Pubdate: Wed, 01 Aug 2001
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 2001 The New York Times Company
Contact:  http://www.nytimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
Author: The Associated Press

ERRORS LISTED IN DOWNING OF PERU PLANE

WASHINGTON, July 31 (AP) -- An inquiry led by the State Department has 
found that the downing by Peru of a plane with American missionaries on 
board resulted from errors by Peruvians, Americans and the pilot, two 
officials said today.

The report does not assign direct fault for the April 20 crash, which 
occurred after the plane had been initially mistaken for a drug flight by a 
surveillance plane operated by the Central Intelligence Agency and after a 
Peruvian military jet had fired on the smaller craft.

A Baptist missionary, Veronica Bowers, and her 7-month-old daughter were 
killed. The pilot, Kevin Donaldson, was seriously wounded.

A United States-Peru team led by Assistant Secretary of State Rand Beers 
has been seeking the cause of the accident. State Department officials 
briefed members of Congress privately on Monday. Family members were being 
notified separately.

The report has not been released, but some findings were reported today in 
The Washington Post, which cited unidentified sources. Two officials 
familiar with the report discussed it with The Associated Press.

One official said among the findings was that the plane had not followed a 
proper flight plan and that the pilot had not monitored the correct radio 
frequencies that would have allowed the Peruvian Air Force to contact it. 
The missionaries have repeatedly said they did nothing wrong.

The officials said the report had also found that the Peruvians had failed 
to follow proper procedures to avoid an accidental downing and that they 
had disregarded warnings from the crew of the C.I.A.'s plane not to fire on 
the missionaries.
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