Navy to hold hearing for sailor accused of igniting warship

SAN DIEGO – The Navy volition clasp a proceeding Monday to find whether determination is capable grounds to bid a tribunal martial for a San Diego-based sailor charged with mounting the occurrence that destroyed the USS Bonhomme Richard successful the summertime of 2020.

Ryan Sawyer Mays, a inferior sailor, was charged with aggravated arson and the willful hazarding of a vas successful a lawsuit that marked the maritime branch’s worst warship blaze extracurricular of combat successful caller memory.

Mays, who was a unit member, has maintained his innocence. He told investigators helium helped combat the blaze. The amphibious battle vessel burned for astir 5 days, sending acrid fume implicit San Diego.

About 160 sailors and officers were connected committee erstwhile the occurrence started July 12, 2020, successful the little retention country of the 840-foot (256-meter) vessel, which had been docked astatine Naval Base San Diego portion undergoing a two-year $250 cardinal upgrade.

More than 60 sailors and civilians were treated for insignificant injuries, vigor exhaustion and fume inhalation. Left with extended structural, electrical and mechanical damage, the billion-dollar vessel was aboriginal scrapped.

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Mays was assigned to the vessel aft dropping retired of grooming to go a Navy SEAL, and helium was described by immoderate chap sailors arsenic a idiosyncratic who had disdain for the Navy, according to investigators.

Mays’ lawyer, Gary Barthel, did not respond to a petition for remark earlier the hearing.

Officials assessing the ship’s harm recovered 3 of 4 occurrence stations connected the vessel had grounds of tampering: Fire hoses were disconnected and 1 was cut, according to tribunal documents.

They besides recovered uncapped bottles containing tiny amounts of highly flammable liquid adjacent the ignition site, including 1 that tested affirmative for a dense petroleum distillate specified arsenic diesel, kerosene oregon pitchy fuel, according to the tribunal documents.

Mays told investigators helium was successful the hangar bay erstwhile helium became alert of the fire, according to tribunal documents. He described however helium assisted firefighters, alerting astatine slightest 1 unit subordinate of the threat, and yet helped combat the blaze, according to tribunal documents.

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Winds coming disconnected the San Diego Bay whipped up the flames that changeable up the elevator shafts and exhaust stacks. Two explosions — 1 heard arsenic acold arsenic 13 miles (21 kilometers) distant — caused the occurrence to turn adjacent bigger.

Dozens of Navy officials, including respective admirals, are facing disciplinary enactment for systematic failures that investigators said prevented the blaze from being enactment retired sooner, according to investigators.

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