Top Official: No Deal For Woman Pilot

Air Force Secretary Sheila Widnall “has no intention” of granting the first female B-52 bomber pilot’s request for an honorable discharge in lieu of a court martial on adultery and disobedience charges, Pentagon sources said late Monday.

First Lt. Kelly Flinn’s civilian attorney filed the request earlier in the day at Minot Air Force Base, N.D.

“The secretary has no intentions of granting an honorable discharge,” said a senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The 26-year-old pilot, who is single, faces trial on charges of having an affair with a civilian man married to an Air Force enlisted woman. She also is charged with having a brief relationship with an enlisted man. Both affairs, which violate military rules, took place in the past year. The senior Pentagon official said Widnall would make her decision known “in a couple of days” after formally reviewing the paperwork.

That appears to clear the way for Flinn’s court hearing in Minot to go forward today.