Chief Warrant Officer 3 Darrin R. Rogers was charged in the Aug. 12 crash with negligent homicide, reckless endangerment, failure to carry out a lawful order and destruction of government property.

His military attorney, Capt. Darwin Strickland, entered a plea of guilty to all charges this morning on his behalf at the start of Rogers' court-martial at Wheeler Army Air Field in central Oahu.

Rogers could be discharged from the Army and could face more than five years in prison, although outside legal experts say prison time would be exceedingly unusual for a case involving a negligent homicide complaint.

Rogers, 37, declined to comment when reached by telephone yesterday at his home in Mililani. He is stationed at Schofield Barracks with the 25th Infantry Division (Light).

The career pilot was at the controls of the UH-60 tactical transport helicopter and was demonstrating for visiting dignitaries how to deliver troops quickly to the battlefield when the Black Hawk plunged to the ground outside Camp Salerno near Khowst and was destroyed. Investigators said Rogers conducted "maneuvers unnecessary for the mission."

Sgt. Daniel Lee Galvan, 30, was killed. All 11 Marines aboard were injured.

Galvan's parents and widow, Sonya Galvan of Lubbock, Texas, are expected to attend the trial.

"If just for a minute, if Rogers hadn't acted like a pilot and acted more like these were his children on board, this wouldn't have happened," she told The Associated Press. "He has no idea how much my kids are struggling, how this has affected our lives."

Sonya Galvan left her two children at home because she thought the trip would be too disturbing for them.

She is hoping the court-martial makes other pilots aware of the consequences of their actions, and she believes Rogers should be kicked out of the Army and denied his retirement pay.

Army officials would not provide additional details about the crash, nor would they estimate how many days the court-martial would last.

"It's going to take as long as it takes to ensure he has a fair trial," Schofield spokeswoman Capt. Juanita Chang said.

Associated Press reporter Ted Bridis in Washington contributed to this report.