Pubdate: Mon, 23 Apr 2001 Source: Register-Guard, The (OR) Copyright: 2001 The Register-Guard Contact: http://www.registerguard.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/362 Author: The New York Times U.S. CREW WARNED PERUVIANS NOT TO SHOOT WASHINGTON - The crew of an American surveillance plane tracking suspected drug runners in Peru objected as the Peruvian air force rushed to attack a small plane carrying American missionaries, U.S. officials said Sunday. The attack, on Friday, killed one missionary, Veronica Bowers, and her 7-month-old daughter, Charity. The surveillance plane's crew, who were American contract employees of the CIA, raised repeated objections that the missionaries' plane had not yet been identified, the American officials said. Despite their objections, a Peruvian officer aboard the American tracking plane called in a Peruvian intercepter jet, which moved quickly to attack the small plane. In their account, the officials said the Peruvian military might have broken the rules of engagement arranged by the two countries for anti-drug operations. The Peruvian A-37 jet flew close enough to the missionaries' plane, a single-engine Cessna equipped with pontoons, to get its identifying tail number before opening fire, but it apparently did not relay the registration number to the authorities on the ground, the officials said. The unarmed American tracking aircraft, one of many U.S. planes that are used in a longstanding program to help Peru and Colombia choke off the cocaine trade, played a crucial role in spotting the missionaries' plane and raising suspicions about its flight, according to the American officials. But they insisted that Peru's military was in command and control of drug interceptions. A round of shots killed Bowers and her newly adopted baby. The others on board survived: Bowers' husband, James, 37; their son Cory, 6; and the pilot, Kevin Donaldson, who despite being seriously wounded in both legs crash-landed the plane in the Amazon River. The adults are members of the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism, based in Harrisburg, Pa. - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager