Pilot Accused of Near-Collision With Reagan’s Copter Is Indicted

The pilot of a light plane that the government says nearly collided with President Reagan’s helicopter was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday on two counts of lying to government agents who questioned him after the incident.

U.S. Atty. Robert C. Bonner charged that the pilot, Ralph W. Myers, 33, an Army private at Ft. Lewis, Wash., produced “totally false and concocted” stories about why he violated prohibited airspace over Reagan’s Rancho del Cielo near Santa Barbara.

Bonner told a news conference that he would not speculate why the Aug. 13 incident took place, except to say that “there is no evidence Myers intended to do harm to the President.”

‘Made False Statements’

The indictment alleges that Myers “made false statements” to Federal Aviation Administration and Secret Service agents who questioned him for two days about the alleged near-collision.

According to the indictment, Myers gave false statements when he told the agents he “had not known where he was or where he was going and had been flying blind, all as a result of problems with his contact lenses. . . .”

Myers, a resident of Lake Oswego, Ore., could not be reached for comment at the Army base.

Myers’ lawyer, Mark L. Goldstein of Newport Beach, said that after discussing the case with several government lawyers in Washington, he has concluded that “the strings” for the indictment were pulled by the Reagan Administration.

In response to questions, Bonner said “in no way” did anyone in Washington orchestrate the indictment.

Myers had been AWOL from the Army for nearly two weeks when he rented a white Piper Archer airplane in Vancouver, Wash., and flew to Lompoc, where he picked up a passenger, Harlan Lee Jones, 52. He then entered into a business arrangement with Jones to fly him to John Wayne Airport in Orange County where his passenger had a meeting with Donald Nixon Jr., nephew of the former President.

During the flight, the FAA contends, Myers entered restricted airspace over Reagan’s ranch and almost collided with the President’s helicopter that was carrying Reagan, White House Chief of Staff Howard H. Baker Jr. and National Security Adviser Frank C. Carlucci.

2 Days of Interrogation

After two days of interrogation at the Orange County airport by FAA and Secret Service agents, the FAA invoked its emergency powers and revoked Myers’ pilot’s license without a hearing.

Myers appealed the action, and last Thursday a National Transportation Safety Board hearing began in Los Angeles on whether Myers’ license should remain revoked. During this hearing, a Secret Service agent who questioned Myers on Aug. 13 and Aug. 14, Dennis Maez, testified that Myers admitted he had “fabricated” some of his answers.

At first, Maez told the hearing, Myers said that he became “disoriented” because of difficulty he was having with contact lenses and that he did not know he violated any airspace. Then, Maez testified, Myers changed his story and said “he was taking a shortcut (and) knew he was going through prohibited airspace and he did it.” The hearing has been continued until December.

Goldstein contended that “there never was a near-collision” between Myers’ light plane and the President’s helicopter. Myers, he said, “was questioned for hours,” given a polygraph test and “browbeat” into giving the answers that have led to a federal indictment.

If convicted on the federal charges, Myers faces a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and a $500,000 fine. He is scheduled to appear today before a U.S. magistrate where Bonner said the government will ask for a $25,000 bond.