Air Force inquiry in cruise ship plunge

An Air Force Academy cadet who plunged 50 feet from a cruise ship balcony into the ocean could face disciplinary action after a school inquiry is complete.

"This will examine facts and circumstances," school spokesman Johnny Whitaker told The Gazette. "It is not a criminal investigation.

"We don't know how long it will take and what the outcome will be," he said.

Air Force cadet Ernesto Guzman, 22, and Celeste Clarice Partee, 20, fell from the balcony of Partee's cabin on Princess Cruises' Grand Princess about 150 miles off the coast of Galveston, Texas, on March 25. Partee, of Little Rock, Ark., is a sophomore at the University of Colorado.

Both were rescued after about five hours in the water.

Guzman issued a statement through the academy thanking Princess Cruises and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Whitaker described the inquiry as routine, similar to one that would be conducted if a cadet were in a car accident off campus.

Princess Cruises has declined to discuss the March 25 incident, other than to say the matter was closed. The Coast Guard last week declared the incident an accident.