Human error cited in jet hit by Patriot
Raytheon cleared in fatal accident
Army commanders ordered a Patriot missile battery to shoot down a Navy jet during the invasion of Iraq last year after mistaking the aircraft for an incoming Iraqi missile, a military investigation concluded yesterday.
The one-page unclassified summary of the report, issued by Central Command in Tampa, exonerated the maker of the missile system,
Some critics charge that the Patriot system too often identifies friendly objects as hostile.
In a statement, the Army called the Patriot system ''a unique and viable weapon" and said that in the light of the accident the military would strengthen communication between units on the ground and their commanders and upgrade the software used to classify airborne objects, both of which the investigation said contributed to the tragedy.
Lieutenant Nathan White, the pilot of the Navy F/A-18 Hornet, died in the April 2, 2003, accident. Two British servicemen died in a similar case of friendly fire involving the Patriot system on March 23, 2003, when their jet was shot down over Kuwait.
According to CentCom's findings, two separate Patriot batteries identified the F/A-18 as potentially hostile. The batteries alerted the Information Coordination Center, which ordered the missile launch.
Raytheon welcomed the report yesterday. ''We concur with the US Central Command's findings that the Patriot system successfully performed the mission for which it was designed," said Steve Brecken, manager of media initiatives at Raytheon. ''Along with his fellow shipmates, we mourn the tragic loss of Lieutenant Nathan White and extend our most sincere condolences to his family."
The findings echoed a British inquest into the earlier case that cited communications and training problems for the accident involving British troops. That report was also more critical of the Patriot system, saying that its method for identifying enemy missiles was based on generic threats, and should have been more selective given Iraq's limited capabilities. ''The criteria should have been much tauter, based on the known threat from Iraq," the report said.
The Army gave the Patriot high marks in a study of the system's overall effectiveness, which was also released yesterday. The Army said the Patriot system destroyed all nine Iraqi missiles it engaged during the conflict.
After the first Gulf War, congressional investigations found that the Army and Raytheon had inflated numbers that ostensibly proved the Patriot system's effectiveness in that conflict.
The Patriot is also used by a number of other militaries worldwide, including those of Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Taiwan. 