The three first degree manslaughter charges against Thomas Brent Caldwell, 31, Pryor, were dismissed by Delaware County District Judge Robert Haney Wednesday.

Caldwell was charged in December 2006 for the deaths of three passengers, Mariano Carlos, Everardo Ortiz Robles and Eulalio Gonzalez Campos, in a Bellanca Viking aircraft he was piloting.

The engine stalled and the plane crashed in Drowning Creek on Grand Lake.

The medical examiner determined all three passengers died from drowning.

Caldwell pled not guilty in district court arraignment May 9, and his attorney, Winston H. Connor, II filed a motion to quash.

Haney issued an order Wednesday which stated the charge of manslaughter requires the state prove a crime was committed as a direct result of an act or event happening in the commission of a misdemeanor and the act was caused by the defendant while in the commission of a misdemeanor.

The order stated, “the State must prove or be able to prove that the operation of the airplane without an airman’s certificate (license) and/or medical certificate, was the direct or proximate cause that resulted in the deaths of these individuals.”

The court found the cause of the plane crash was the engine stalling. There is no evidence why the engine stalled and “more importantly, no evidence of the defendant doing something that was of criminal nature that ‘caused’ the engine to stall that resulted in the crash that resulted in the deaths.”

Connor explained the legal issue is whether Caldwell’s not having a license to fly a plane or a medical certificate had anything to do the engine’s operation.

Connor explained the cause of the crash was the engine failure, not whether or not Caldwell had a pilot’s license and/or medical certificate.

“Obviously, the decision today does not surprise me,” Connor said.

“There’s really no winners or losers today,” said Connor. “I believe the judge followed the law and we still have three people dead.”

Connor said the families of the deceased have never wanted Caldwell prosecuted, but the state announced their intent to appeal.

Connor is not sure why the state feels the need to continue at this point.

“It seems like a waste of taxpayer money and time,” he said.

Assistant District Attorney Bryce Lair said the state does intend to appeal the ruling.

“We believe that the law is clear that what we had to show for purpose of preliminary hearing was that the defendant committed a crime by flying his airplane without a license and as a result of such action, three people died,” said Lair. “The district court, in its ruling, added an extra element for the state to prove in that the defendant was ‘doing something that was of criminal nature that caused the engine to stall’.”

The state will appeal to the court of criminal appeals.

“We’re going to appeal on the basis that the district court’s position is not the law,” said Lair.