CBP not following regulations????  

But officials tried to conceal the details of that report.

Robert Blanchard, executive director of CBP’s Air and Marine Operations division, “improperly attempted to remove critical information” about the hiring process and dangerous fuel tanks from the mishap report’s findings in December 2021 “because of the potential for a negative public response and increased legal liability,” according to whistleblower allegations later confirmed by an internal agency investigation.

The CBP division’s former director of training, safety and standards, Joseph Adams, made the protected disclosures about the alleged cover-up to the Office of Special Counsel after having been asked by Blanchard to remove the information from the final report.

Adams, who retired in October after 15 years in the division, also alleged CBP higher-ups retaliated against him and threatened to dismiss him following the disclosures, which the Office of Special Counsel is separately investigating.

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The CBP division’s former director of training, safety and standards, Joseph Adams, made the protected disclosures about the alleged cover-up to the Office of Special Counsel.U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Last June, Special Counsel Henry Kerner referred the whistleblower allegations to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who tapped CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility to look into the matter.

That office in May 2023 confirmed that 81 of 97 light helicopters are operating without crash-resistant fuel tanks and that Blanchard tried to remove that fact and information about the hiring process for new pilots from his division’s final mishap report, having told Adams in an email the details were “a litigation hazard.”

Crash-resistant fuel tanks have been required by all CBP light enforcement helicopters since 2006 to reduce the likelihood of fires following an accident.

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Special Counsel Henry Kerner approached CBP in August asking whether the report’s findings would prompt disciplinary actions by the agency.CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

However, the Office of Professional Responsibility stated in the report that the helicopter fleet was not in violation of Federal Aviation Administration standards, since the requirement does not apply to aircraft designed before 1994.

The Office of Special Counsel approached CBP in August asking whether the report’s findings would prompt disciplinary actions by the agency and whether it intended to retrofit any crash-resistant fuel tanks in the future.

On Sept. 18, CBP Acting Commissioner Troy Miller responded in a letter that the report would be forwarded to an internal Discipline Review Board for consideration, while noting that Blanchard was slated to retire by the end of the month, according to a copy obtained by The Post.

“CBP has determined not to retrofit the current fleet,” the letter also states, but “has elected to retire and replace the fleet lacking crash worth [sic] fuel tanks.”

The letter makes no mention of changes to policies surrounding the flight school.