JAG – Clipped Wings (1998)

In episode “Clipped Wings”, Joe Spano plays Navy Captain Jack Murphy.  JAG has been called in to investigate a collision between a Navy F-14 and a civilian helicopter in Italy, and Capt Murphy is the commanding officer of the squadron in question.  Initially meeting with them in the hangar, he lets them know upfront that he doesn’t think his pilot did anything wrong.

He gives them the initial outlines of the story – the F-14 was doing a low-level radar evasion run, and was at the wrong altitude after completing the run; notice had been given that commercial helicopters would be operating in the area.

There is some question about whether the NOTAM (notice to airmen) had actually been posted before the flight, however.

[Can’t resist – I know it’s Hollywood and all, but who vetted this ribbon bar?  Seriously – a Navy Cross, but he’s only made one deployment in his whole career (and as a pilot himself, no less)?  That’s not the only issue with this set, but I definitely got a chuckle that I earned more deployment ribbons in just one sea rotation than a Navy Captain is showing for an entire career…  :p~~ ]

The pilot’s story is that he was at the wrong altitude because he had to dive down to avoid a light aircraft in his path; air traffic control cannot corroborate this because he was still below their horizon, but they find green paint on the wing of the F-14.

The JAG prosecutor tells Capt Murphy that she’s not the enemy, but she is going to do her best while trying this case; there is much at stake with the Italian government and people.  Captain Murphy listens respectfully but reiterates that he thinks his man is innocent.

The pilot has drafted a letter of apology for the crash but the captain doesn’t think it’s a good idea.  However, a Senator also present in the briefing thinks it is a very good idea, and has a press conference to read it to TV news crews.

The court-martial begins, and the first witness seems credible; but when asked to pick out the silhouette of the aircraft, he picks out an Italian jet that looks nothing like an F-14 in profile.  The Italian air-traffic controller’s story of when he posted the NOTAM about civilian helicopters in the area is called into question as well, with doubt remaining that it was in fact posted before the incident.

Commander Rabb (who is defending the pilot) gets an opportunity to take an F-14 up to run the same route, to see if what the pilot has claimed he did (when evading the other craft) is possible.  The Senator wants to go along for the ride, and Captain Murphy gives her a 500-lire coin; telling her that it’s so she can make a phone call in case they have to punch out.  She isn’t deterred from making the flight, however.

After the flight, Cmdr Rabb tells Capt Murphy that the pilot’s story checks out.  They also saw a light plane on the ground while on the run that might match the paint scrape on the F-14, and they go to check that out.

Checking out the aircraft they’ve seen, they find that it is a match, and the story comes out; the daughter of the man who owns the plane had taken it up without his knowledge and also without a flight plan.  She comes to give her testimony, and the pilot is cleared.

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Rest of the screenshots from this episode are available here.