MADELEINE BRAND, host:
This is DAY TO DAY. I'm Madeleine Brand.
ALEX CHADWICK, host:
I'm Alex Chadwick.
This week in England, there are more hearings into the so-called friendly fire death of Lance Corporal Matty Hull. He was killed nearly four years ago on a reconnaissance mission near Basrah, southern Iraq. His unit was attacked by American jets. Four other British soldiers were wounded.
BRAND: The U.S. military investigated - no charges were brought against the two American pilots involved. But it's customary in Britain to investigate all military deaths. And last week, the cockpit video recording, the recording that U.S. military had resisted releasing, was leaked to the public.
CHADWICK: But do the tapes contain answers as to what happened that day? Joe D'Eon is an airline pilot. He produces a Podcast on flying. He, like many, has been listening to the recordings and looking for the truth. He's found something a lot more complicated.
Mr. JOE D'EON (Airline Pilot) The A-10 cockpit video struck a chord with me. I used to be an A-10 pilot myself. I was out before the war started so thankfully, I never saw a combat. But what I saw on that tape was very familiar. When it showed up on YouTube, I watched it several times. I was looking for an answer to a burning question - how could this happen?
Unidentified Man #1: I got a four ship of vehicles that are evenly spaced along a road going north.
Mr. D'EON: At first, it doesn't sound much different from one of my old training missions. We have the usual talk about where the target is.
Unidentified Man #1: - look down there north along that canal, right there…
Mr. D'EON: And everything sounds pretty routine, almost easy. But remember, these pilots weren't watching it all happen on YouTube, they were at war.
Unidentified Man #2: Okay. Right underneath you. Right now, there's a canal that runs…
Mr. D'EON: Each pilot was alone in his own aircraft, trying to identify targets while moving at 300 miles an hour; while juggling three radios in order to keep in contact with the forward air controller, their wingman and AWACS; while maintaining altitude to stay above enemy fire that might shoot them down; while making turns so tight it makes their bodies three to four times heavier than normal, so that just reaching up to flip a switch is like a trip to the weight room.
And all the while, keeping another eye on their wingman so they don't run into each other and come crashing to the ground in a deadly fireball. All in real time - no pause, no rewind, no gameover screen with an option to restart from last save.
(Soundbite of cockpit recording)
Unidentified Man #2: Looks like we have orange panels on them though. Do we have any friendlies up in this area?
Unidentified Man #3: I understand that was north 800 meters.
Mr. D'EON: And there it is. It could have ended there. One pilot just noticed the orange the panels on top of the vehicles, and that's supposed to mean they're friendly.
He asked if there were friendlies in the area, but he got no reply. Now listen carefully. The pilot asks a second time to confirm there are no friendlies, and the controller says, that's affirmed. You are well clear of friendlies.
(Soundbite cockpit recording)
Unidentified Man #1: Confirm, north 800 meters. Confirm there are no friendlies this far north on the ground.
Unidentified Man #3: That is an affirm. You are well clear of friendlies.
Mr. D'EON: So the controller told them there were no friendlies in the area. But the pilot said he saw something orange. I know what it's like to have conflicting information coming at you in real time. You try to find a solution that fits, and you have to do it quickly.
So if it's not from friendlies, maybe the orange is from orange rockets. The pilot wants something to back up this idea. So he asks the controller, tell me what type of rocket launchers you've got up there.
Unidentified Man #4: Hey, tell me what type of rocket launchers you got up here?
Mr. D'EON: And no one says, hey, those aren't rocket launchers. Somehow, he's sure. There's no time to go back and reevaluate. He's getting low on fuel and that rockets are heading into town where they'll be able to hide. So he rules in to destroy them before they're used against his own troops. This is audio from his firing pass. He rolls in, saying, two's(ph) in, and then hear the low, growling sound of gunfire.
(Soundbite of gun firing)
Unidentified Man #4: And the two's in
(Soundbite of gun firing)
Mr. D'EON: Two passes on the target he thought was a rocket launcher. And then, they heard this.
(Soundbite of cockpit recording)
Unidentified Man #5: 3122 and 3222 group box you have friendly armour in the area. Yellow, small armoured tanks. Just be advised.
Mr. D'EON: In case you missed it, Lightning 34 said, be advised that in the 3122 and 3222 group box you have friendly armour in the area.
(Soundbite of cockpit recording)
Unidentified Man #5: Hey, POPOV34, abort your mission. You got a - looks we might have a blue on blue situation.
Unidentified Man #1: God bless it. POPOV34.
Mr. D'EON: The A-10 pilot suddenly realized what had happened.
Unidentified Man #1: Bleep. Bleep. Bleep.
Unidentified Man #6: this is MANILA 34. Did you copy my last, over?
Unidentified Man #1: I did.
Unidentified Man #6: (Unintelligible) northern side of the north -
Mr. D'EON: I hear that tape, and I feel really bad, almost sick. I feel sick for the pilots involved, sick for the British soldiers who were attacked and especially, I feel sick for the friends and family of Lance Corporal Matty Hull.
I flew the A-10 myself. And though I might like to say I would never have made the mistake these pilots made, the truth is, it could've happened to me.
CHADWICK: Joe D'Eon is now a commercial airline pilot. He produces a Podcast called "Fly With Me: An Inside Look at the Airline Life." You can find it at flywithjoe.com, or go to a link at our Web site, npr.org. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
