Squadron Leader Relieved of Duty

Five days before the plane crash in Croatia that took the lives of Commerce Secretary Ronald H. Brown and 34 others, the commander of the plane’s squadron was relieved from duty because he allegedly told superiors that such flights were unsafe, Stars and Stripes newspaper reported in today’s editions.

A U.S. Air Force spokesman confirmed that Lt. Col. James Albright was relieved on March 29 after he had raised safety concerns but denied that there was any link between the two actions.

Stars and Stripes, an unofficial military newspaper published for U.S. forces in Germany, quoted an unidentified pilot as saying that Albright was relieved because he objected to “pressure from above” to allow flights to areas where ground-based, computer navigational devices had been destroyed or removed during the recent fighting in Bosnia. He was especially opposed to such flights during foul weather, the pilot said.

But Albright told Associated Press early today that the concerns he raised pertained to the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo.

He said his being relieved was “completely unrelated” to the safety issues he had raised.