Pa. worker charged with military copter vandalism

PHILADELPHIA -- An assembly line worker upset about a pending job transfer has been charged with vandalizing a military helicopter at a Boeing factory, prosecutors said Tuesday.

They said they were still trying to determine who damaged a second helicopter at the plant.

Matthew Kevin Montgomery, 33, of Trevose, cut a bundle of about 70 wires on an H-47 Chinook helicopter, U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan said at a news conference.

Montgomery admitted to cutting the wires on the morning of May 10, his last day working on the Chinook line, according to an arrest affidavit. He had been a Boeing employee for 18 months.

"Regardless of what his motivation was, the impact was the same," Meehan said. The helicopter would not have been able to fly with the cut wires, investigators said.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry Perkin agreed Tuesday to release Montgomery on $25,000 bail; the judge ordered him to live with his parents in Southampton, undergo a mental health exam and have no contact with Boeing or its employees.

"He's very concerned and very remorseful," said public defender Mara Meehan. "He's been pretty upset, which is one reason why concerns have been raised about mental health."

Montgomery refused to answer questions from an Associated Press reporter outside court.

The production line was shut down last week after the vandalism was discovered by workers in the Ridley Park plant. Federal officials handed out fliers to workers, offering a $5,000 reward for information.

Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa., has said a suspicious washer was found in the second helicopter. A military criminal investigator described the washer as being in a place it shouldn't have been.

Meehan said authorities were still trying to determine who damaged the second helicopter.

"The focus of the investigation continues to be on one or more Boeing employees," federal investigators said in a statement. "Montgomery is not currently a suspect in the second investigation."

The Chinook is the Army's workhorse aircraft and is used to transport troops and supplies. Boeing is currently producing new Chinooks for the Army, as well as updating older models.

Montgomery's arrest relieved other workers at the plant, according to the head of their union, United Auto Workers 1069.

"A lot of our members are relieved saying this type of person does not belong in this facility," said John DeFrancisco, the union's president. "They feel relieved they can go back to work and not have to look over their shoulders or feel there's anybody in there doing damage."

DeFrancisco said he felt it was an individual act by someone with personal problems and had nothing to do with any contract issues.