JAG, Cuba, and what if?

Factual Questions
1

Last night’s episode of JAG involved a Cuban girl whose raft sank. Cuba wanted her back, and the captain of the U.S. Naval vessel that picked her up turned out to be a refugee himself. Of course there is the legal wrangling about how to keep the girl, the captain’s career, etc.

Okay, lets suppose…

Suppose a civilian helicopter pilot were to “happen” along. Suppose he decided he needed to make a “precautionary landing” and the frigate justed “happened” be in an advantageous position.

I assume that the captain of a ship can allow a precautionary landing on his vessel by a civilian. When the civilian discovers that his “precautionary landing” was unnecessary (i.e., he “finds nothing wrong”), could the captain allow a Cuban refugee to ride back to U.S. soil with the civilian pilot? In last night’s episode, none of this happened. The captain had to make a choice between the freedom of the girl and his own career. But “what if”? Since a pilot is allowed to make precautionary landings in an emergency (prosecution would have to prove that, say, the chip detector light didn’t illuminate), and since he did not violate SFARs because he was not in Cuban airspace, it seems to me that the pilot could not be “convicted”. The passenger would be turned over to INS at the airport of entry and would be taken into custody; but since the refugee is “feet dry” (i.e., s/he made it to U.S. soil), s/he’d probably be able to stay in the U.S.

So it looks like the pilot wins (nothing to charge him with, unless they can prove he faked an emergency), the captain wins (he doesn’t violate orders by returning to U.S. soil on his own initiative), and the refugee wins (makes it to the U.S.).

Am I overlooking anything? If not, why havent Brothers to the Rescue made friends with a sympathetic Naval captain?

(Note: I am not advocating the breaking of any laws, not do I have any interest in the Cuban regugee situation. Just wondering, since I saw the teevee show and I was thinking of an alternate ending.)

2

IANAL, but in your example, the captain still loses.

Apart from the fact that the guys in Norfolk would make him put on his best song-and-dance to explain all these “coincidences” (including allowing “precautionary landings” on his vessel by any Tom, Dick or Harry in these post- USS Cole days), he ** cannot just hand over persons in his custody to any unauthorized Tom, Dick or Harry who “just happened by” **.

Also, in your scenario the girl may NOT be after all a “feet dry” refugee, since it could be argued that it is on record that she was intercepted in the High Seas by the US vessel (unless someone tampers with the log, a career-ending offense itself) and any passage thru US soil would be considered as being in protective custody.

The hypothezised extreme scenario of Hermanos al Rescate making an “arrangement” with a sympathetic captain is out of the question, since they could never make an arrangement to get every officer and chief to “look the other way” .
jrd