Court-Martial Delayed Until May

The court-martial of a former Fairchild Air Force Base officer stemming from last June’s fatal B-52 crash tentatively is rescheduled for May.

The trial, originally scheduled to begin today, is being delayed while a military judge studies a confidential report on the crash.

Col. James Van Orsdol, the judge, will hold a hearing March 22 to announce whether the report by Air Force safety investigators contains key information for attorneys defending Col. William Pellerin.

If it does, Van Orsdol will have to decide whether to ask Air Force Secretary Sheila Widnall to release the report.

Pellerin was operations commander for the 92nd Bomb Wing at Fairchild when the crash occurred.