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Heli USA Airways Pilot pleas on three counts of manslaghter in aircraft "accident"...

Pilot enters pleas in fatal chopper crash
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WI_HELICOPTER_CRASH_WIOL-?SITE=WIMIL&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
LIHUE, Hawaii (AP) -- The pilot of a tour helicopter involved in a crash that killed a Wisconsin man and two other people on Kauai has pleaded not guilty to three counts of manslaughter and other charges.
Glen Lampton, who entered the plea Tuesday, was indicted in December on the manslaughter charges plus two counts of reckless endangering, as well as providing a false statement to authorities and tampering with evidence.
Trial is set for July 26. Lampton, who now lives in Las Vegas, asked the Circuit Court for permission to travel back and forth for the proceedings.
On Sept. 23, Lampton was piloting Heli USA Airways helicopter that crashed in the ocean near Haena Point.Killed in the crash were Laverne Clifton of Beloit, Wis., who died of cardiac arrest caused by near drowning, and Catherine Baron and Mary H. Soucy, both of Portland, Maine, who drowned.
Lampton and two other passengers, Clifton's daughter Karen Thorson and her husband Bill, survived.
The National Transportation Safety Board is continuing its investigation the cause of the accident.
Lampton has told officials that just before the accident, he suddenly saw another helicopter coming straight for him, turned to avoid a crash and encountered heavy rain that caused him to descend rapidly.
The Thorsons have said they saw another helicopter at the time of the accident, but it was so far away they didn't believe Lampton had to maneuver to avoid hitting it.