Lieutenant Mitchell Sanders: court told navy helicopter pilot AWOL in Hawaii during bushfires
The navy was forced to launch a two-day search to find one of its pilots as they were fighting the devastating bushfires on the south coast while he enjoyed a sun-filled holiday more than 8000km away allegedly without permission.
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A highly trained navy helicopter pilot was AWOL from his south coast posting and on holidays in Hawaii during the national bushfire emergency in December, a court has heard.
Lieutenant Mitchell Sanders, a pilot with 18 years of experience, was holidaying in Hawaii despite not being on leave and despite not having approval to travel outside of Australia.
At a Defence Force Magistrates Court hearing in Canberra on Monday, he has pleaded not guilty to being absent without leave and to disobeying a lawful command.
Prosecuting officer Commander Michael Paes told the court Lieutenant Sanders was away from the naval air station at Nowra, HMAS Albatross, for 28 days from December 23, 2019 to January 20 this year.
He had not booked leave for the time he was away, and also failed to put in a retrospective leave application when he returned, Commander Paes said.
Lieutenant Sanders is also accused of failing to notify the navy before he travelled overseas, a requirement that all defence force members must meet so they can be briefed on potential security risks overseas.
“This is a simple matter of a junior officer failing to properly administer himself,” he said.
Commander Paes said senior officers were distracted for two days trying to find Lieutenant Sanders, who didn’t have phone reception in Hawaii and who didn’t respond to a text message from top brass asking after his welfare and where he was.
Lieutenant Sanders’s boss, Lieutenant Commander Jordan Taylor, said he eventually sent the missing pilot a message on Facebook, and received a response saying: “Hey mate. I’m in Hawaii and I don’t have a phone”.
Lieutenant Commander Taylor said it was unrealistic to recall Lieutenant Sanders from Hawaii so he could help the navy with supporting civilian firefighting efforts.
The court heard the squadron was under strain, with some pilots and ground crew on leave and some stuck fighting fires which were threatening their own homes.
The court heard Lieutenant Sanders was otherwise a “dependable pilot”.
His defence is yet to be precisely detailed in court, but questions from his defending officer suggest he will argue he mistakenly believed he was on leave and was allowed to be in Hawaii, where there was no risk he could jeopardise national security.
The hearing continues.
