The Navy has many questions to answer about a U.S. submarine's sinking of a Japanese fishing boat. At a minimum, the accident showed a breakdown in policy and common sense.

New accounts by the government provide details that paint an even more disturbing picture aboard the USS Greeneville immediately before the submarine struck and sank a Japanese fishing boat, leaving nine missing from the trawler and presumed dead. The Navy inquiry, which convenes March 5, should fill in the gaps on whether civilians aboard the sub contributed to the tragic accident by interfering with the controls or normal naval procedures during a surfacing maneuver.

A crew member on the Greeneville told the National Transportation Safety Board, which also is investigating the accident, that he was distracted by the civilians and unable to plot sonar readings less than an hour before the sub struck the Ehime Maru on Feb. 9. That disclosure this week follows the Navy's belated acknowledgement that VIPs sat at the Greeneville's controls and pulled the levers initiating the "ballast blow" that rocketed the submarine to the surface.

Whether the distraction contributed to the tragedy is unclear. The Navy will pursue the question in its court of inquiry, the highest-level administrative investigation. The sub's top three officers have declined to cooperate with the safety board until the Navy completes its probe. A full picture of what the commanders knew and did may have to wait. The Navy struck the right note by underscoring that its hearings will be open to the public. Families and the government in Japan, and the public here at home, need confidence the proceedings are fair and complete.

However embarrassing it looks in this case, the mere presence of civilians is not the problem. The armed forces, as with other branches of government, invite journalists and political and civic leaders to observe their work as a public relations tool. The question is whether the presence of civilians was coincidental or a factor in the accident.

The Navy needs to answer several other questions. According to the safety board, the Greeneville had a faulty sonar monitor and inadequately trained staff in the sonar room. A confluence of events may have been to blame. The Japanese government said Thursday it suspects "grave negligence" caused the crash and suggested the United States take "strict disciplinary steps."

It's important at this stage not to prejudge the crew. At the least, however, the Navy needs to tighten its policies allowing civilians aboard warships at sea. Having a private citizen aboard to watch is fine, but there's no excuse for allowing untrained civilians to put their hands on the controls, even under close supervision. These are armaments of national defense, not theme parks for the politically connected.

At a minimum, the accident showed a breakdown in policy and common-sense. The Army and Navy are temporarily barring civilians from some exercises, and the Pentagon's in-house review of civilian access to military demonstrations is a prudent diplomatic step. In the meantime, the government is showing the right regard by seeking to honor Japan's request to raise its ship from the ocean floor.

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