Border agents tried to cover up a 2021 helicopter crash that put a public safety at ‘substantial risk’ by allowing dangerous craft and inexperienced pilots take to the sky, whistleblower claims

Senior Border Patrol officials covered up a near-fatal helicopter crash and were allowed to retire early rather than face charges for repeatedly putting the public in serious danger, a whistleblower said.

Two Customs and Border Protection agents had a miraculous escape in 2021 when a helicopter crashed and caught fire during a training exercise outside Oklahoma City.

An internal investigation found that the trainee was just the first of many who were routinely allowed to fly without sufficient cockpit experience, and that most of the fleet does not have crash-resistant fuel tanks.

Whistleblower Joseph Adams claims that CBP chief Robert Blanchard ordered him to expunge the findings from the official crash report because they constituted a “legal liability.”

Adams said, according to the New York Postthe agency runs an “under wraps” flight school where trainees can “maintain their logbooks,” and that his job was threatened after warning about the “substantial and specific danger to public safety.”

Whistleblower Joseph Adams accused Robert Blanchard (left) of ordering him to cover up the report. Current agency boss Troy Miller (right) allowed Blanchard to retire early

Investigators found nothing but ash and two dazed pilots when they arrived on the scene

“This results in minimally skilled pilots being selected for very difficult pilot assignments,” said Adams, who retired from CBP after 15 years.

First responders found little but ash and the two shaken pilots were dead by the time they arrived at the scene of the helicopter crash in Oklahoma on May 12, 2021.

“It’s not something we see every day and we’re just thankful they’re doing well,” said Benny Fulkerson with the Yukon Fire Department.

An internal report on aircraft accidents found that the trainee pilot was the “primary causal factor” and had not accumulated enough flight hours before being allowed to fly the helicopter.

Adams said the crash was just the first of half a dozen accidents caused by poor safety standards.

He alerted the Office of Special Counsel about his concerns and it ordered CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility to investigate, he claimed.

That agency confirmed that Blanchard had “improperly attempted to remove critical information” from the official report “due to the potential for negative public reaction and increased legal liability.”

According to the Post report, he also tried to hide the fact that 81 of the agency’s 97 light helicopters operate without crash-resistant fuel tanks.

The Office of Professional Responsibility ruled that CBP could have the more dangerous tanks because the law does not require crashworthiness on aircraft designed before 1994.

CPB originally said it planned to retrofit new fuel tanks, but in September, Acting Commissioner Troy Miller confirmed, “CBP has decided not to modernize the current fleet.”

He said the agency planned to “retire and replace the fleet that did not have crash-worthy fuel tanks,” and also said Blanchard would retire by the end of that month.

Adams warned the White House in July that other CBP officials aware of the reasons for the crash could have quietly retired before disciplinary action was taken, according to a letter seen by the US government. After.

The Office of Special Counsel is separately investigating allegations that Blanchard threatened to fire Adams, a 15-year veteran of the agency, over his concerns.

Henry Kerner of the Office of the Special Counsel (right) was tasked with handling the whistleblower’s allegations against Blanchard (left)

The CPB must respond this week and report extensively on the case.

“We take our obligations to investigate all allegations seriously and have an established process for investigating whistleblower matters,” a CPB spokesperson said.

“CBP’s Air and Marine Operations remains committed to maintaining the highest standards of training and proficiency for our pilots.

“AMO operates and maintains all of their light helicopters in accordance with manufacturer standards and Federal Aviation Regulations.”