I read the government's report on the shooting down of the missionary plane in the Andes (8/1, A-4, "U.S., Peru faulted for plane tragedy"). There was discussion of various procedural rules violated, implying that if we only follow the rules in the future, this would not happen again. Only those dastardly drug dealers will get shot out of the sky. Well the rule to follow was written more than 200 years ago. It is part of the U.S. Constitution where it says that no one will be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law. You do not shoot a plane out of the sky, no matter what you think it is carrying, unless it is shooting at you. Shooting down a plane is premeditated murder. It also doesn't matter that we hired the Peruvian Air Force to do the dirty work for us. People who hire hit men go to jail in our country. [continues 59 words]
Thumbs down: A State Department report on what caused the deaths of two Americans -- a woman and her infant child -- in a missionary plane shot down in Peru last April has confirmed what seemed apparent at the time: There was a tragic breakdown in communication between a Peruvian fighter plane and a U.S. drug surveillance plane, and a failure to follow prescribed procedures and exercise caution before firing at innocents. A videotape with audio recording released as part of the report made clear that the U.S. plane's crew did sense early on that the civilian plane and its movements did not fit the profile of a drug-trafficking craft. But the Americans and Peruvians involved did not speak each other's language well enough to avoid misunderstandings. The Peruvian pilot, for whatever reason, failed to hold off as urged repeatedly by the U.S. crew via a Peruvian liaison officer on the U.S. plane. [continues 76 words]
Report Casts Doubt On Program That Killed Missionary Woman, Child A recently released report on the shoot-down of West Michigan-based missionaries over Peru raises serious doubts about American involvement in a drug-fighting program there. U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Holland, was right to push for suspending funds for the effort. U.S. Sens. Carl Levin, D-Detroit, and Debbie Stabenow, D- Lansing, should join the de-funding fight in the Senate and demand a full accounting of the tragedy before Congress. [continues 784 words]
Re "Tape Details Attack on Missionary Plane," August 3: It is truly reprehensible that the CIA civilian agents cited in your article would be so poorly prepared in Spanish for the military mission they were assigned. This incident is not only an embarrassment for the State Department but indeed another example of American naivete and arrogance vis-a-vis the role of foreign-language instruction in this country. The poor English skills of the Peruvian pilots in this case are irrelevant; the Americans were flying the Peruvian skies and should be expected to give commands in at least intermediate Spanish. Think about the American woman and her infant daughter killed the next time someone says, "Everyone speaks English, so why learn a foreign language. [continues 250 words]
To the Editor: An American missionary family had its plane shot down in the jungle of Peru by a joint CIA/Peruvian Air Force drug patrol resulting in the death of the mother and one of her children and serious injury to the husband. Lest anyone make comparisons to the federal Ruby Ridge debacle, national news programs are in concert airing video of the event in which CIA personnel are heard in an unsuccessful scurry to stop the Peruvian attack due to the fact that, apparently, the only Spanish words they know are ''bandito'' and ''amigo.'' If this weren't so tragic it would be comical. [continues 62 words]
Latin America: Inquiry Reveals That Language Problems, Procedural Errors By Cia Crew And Peruvian Military Contributed To Accident. WASHINGTON -- The tiny white Cessna soars gently over the endless expanse of jungle, silhouetted by heavy gray clouds above and shining sinews of the mighty Amazon River far below. But the single-engine float plane, carrying three American Baptist missionaries and two children, also is targeted in the cross hairs of an infrared video camera mounted beneath a CIA-contract surveillance jet searching for drug runners in Peru. [continues 1254 words]
Language Split U.S., Peru Crews Washington -- Peruvian officers involved in the downing of an American missionary plane did not hear or could not understand warnings from a CIA-hired crew that might have saved the lives of a missionary and her infant daughter, a videotape showed. The American pilots expressed doubts that the missionary's Cessna float plane was a drug flight, as they had initially suspected, but didn't explicitly try to stop the Peruvians until the shooting began. [continues 410 words]
A State Department investigation into a joint U.S.-Peruvian program to interdict drug traffickers' airplanes has reached a clear-cut, if dismaying, conclusion. According to the report released Thursday, the probe, which followed the accidental shooting down in April of a private plane carrying American missionaries, found that sloppy discipline and procedures explained how CIA-contracted trackers and Peruvian Air Force personnel could have combined to target and kill innocent people. The program dates back to 1994, so the Bush administration can hardly be blamed for its failures. [continues 354 words]
Lax Procedures Are Cited In Peru Shoot-Down The scene taped by the infrared camera on the nose of the CIA aircraft is soothingly calm. For nearly 45 minutes, a small plane moves through billowing clouds over northern Peru, blissfully unaware it is being followed. Inside the CIA cockpit, a voice recorder catches the low beat of pop music and the English and Spanish radio conversations of two American pilots and the Peruvian official aboard as they guide a Peruvian A-37B toward the suspected drug flight. But to each other, and in pidgin Spanish to the Peruvian official, the Americans mention their rising doubts that the plane contains a drug smuggler. Busy on his radio as the fighter closes in, the Peruvian turns to them and says, "What?" [continues 767 words]
A State Department investigation into a joint U.S.-Peruvian program to interdict drug traffickers' airplanes has reached a clear-cut, if dismaying, conclusion. According to the report released yesterday, the probe -- which followed the accidental shootdown in April of a private plane carrying American missionaries -- found that sloppy discipline and procedures explained how CIA-contracted trackers and Peruvian air force personnel could have combined to target and kill innocent people. The program dates back to 1994, so the Bush administration can hardly be blamed for its failures. Yet "sloppy" is a word that could also apply to the administration's handling of the issue -- and its broader start on combating drug trafficking in the Andes. [continues 321 words]
Lax Procedures Are Cited In Peru Shootdown The scene taped by the infrared camera on the nose of the CIA aircraft is soothingly calm. For nearly 45 minutes, a small plane moves through billowing clouds over northern Peru, blissfully unaware it is being followed. Inside the CIA cockpit, a voice recorder catches the low beat of pop music and the English and Spanish radio conversations of two American pilots and the Peruvian official aboard as they guide a Peruvian A37B toward the suspected drug flight. But to each other, and in pidgin Spanish to the Peruvian official, the Americans mention their rising doubts that the plane contains a drug smuggler. Busy on his radio as the fighter closes in, the Peruvian turns to them and says, "What?" [continues 763 words]
WASHINGTON (AP) - Peruvian officers involved in the downing of an American missionary plane did not hear or could not understand warnings from a CIA-hired crew that might have saved the lives of a missionary and her infant daughter, a videotape released Thursday showed. The American pilots repeatedly expressed doubts that the missionary's Cessna float plane was a drug flight, as they had initially suspected, but didn't explicitly try to stop the Peruvians until the shooting began. ''No! Don't shoot! No mas! No mas!'' - no more - the unidentified American co-pilot shouted after the Cessna was fired on. [continues 771 words]
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. [continues 186 words]
An inquiry has found that the downing of an American missionary plane over Peru was caused by an array of problems--and U.S. and Peruvian officials, as well as the plane's pilot, share responsibility, officials said. Peru's air force shot down the Cessna on April 20 after a CIA-operated surveillance aircraft initially identified it as a possible drug plane. An American missionary, Veronica Bowers, 35, and her 7-month-old daughter, Charity, were killed, and pilot Kevin Donaldson, 42, was seriously injured. The report is not expected to be released until late this week. [end]
WASHINGTON -- More than three months after an American missionary plane was mistakenly shot down over Peru, investigators are saying what went wrong. What they aren't saying is what should be done about it. A joint U.S.-Peruvian report due Thursday was expected to conclude that procedural errors and miscommunications led to the April 20 downing that killed an American missionary and her infant daughter. Crew members aboard a CIA-operated surveillance plane mistakenly identified the missionaries' Cessna as a possible drug flight and were unable to stop a Peruvian jet from shooting it down after they realized it was probably innocent. [continues 505 words]
The Associated Press July 31, 2001 4:09 am WASHINGTON (AP) -- A State Department inquiry has concluded that Peru and the United States share responsibility for the mistaken shootdown of a civilian aircraft carrying American missionaries, The Washington Post reported Tuesday. Citing several unamed sources familiar with the report, the paper said it does not assign direct blame to either country for the April incident in which a plane was shot down over northern Peru by a Peruvian Air Force fighter jet which targeted it as a suspected drug flight. [continues 189 words]
WASHINGTON An inquiry has found that the downing of an American missionary plane over Peru was caused by an array of problems - and U.S. and Peruvian officials, as well as the plane's pilot, share responsibility, officials said Tuesday. Peru's air force shot down the Cessna on April 20 after a CIA-operated surveillance plane initially identified it as a possible drug flight. An American missionary, Veronica Bowers, and her 7-month-old daughter were killed and pilot Kevin Donaldson was seriously injured. [continues 677 words]
Report: U.S., Peru Share Blame In Shooting Of Plane WASHINGTON -- Peru and the United States were undisciplined and "sloppy" in the way they conducted a joint program to interdict airborne drug smugglers in recent years, and share responsibility for mistakenly shooting down a civilian aircraft carrying American missionaries in April, according to sources familiar with the findings of a State Department investigation. The downing of the plane over northern Peru occurred after a CIA surveillance plane flown by American contract employees targeted the aircraft as a suspected drug flight, tracked it and helped guide a Peruvian air force fighter jet to it. A Baptist missionary, Veronica "Roni" Bowers, and her 7-month-old daughter were killed, and pilot Kevin Donaldson was seriously wounded. [continues 544 words]
Probe Blames Procedures in Shootdown Peru and the United States were undisciplined and "sloppy" in the way they conducted a joint program to interdict airborne drug smugglers in recent years, and share responsibility for the mistaken shootdown of a civilian aircraft carrying American missionaries over northern Peru in April, according to sources familiar with the findings of a State Department investigation. The shootdown occurred after a CIA surveillance plane flown by American contract employees targeted the aircraft as a suspected drug flight, tracked it and helped guide a Peruvian Air Force fighter jet to it. A Baptist missionary, Veronica "Roni" Bowers, and her 7-month-old daughter were killed, and pilot Kevin Donaldson was seriously wounded. [continues 1447 words]
Both Sides Of The House Are Expected To Criticize Bush's Latin America Counternarcotics Plan. WASHINGTON -- In the annual debate over foreign policy spending in Congress, nothing seems to ignite greater discord than the drug war in Colombia. When the House opened debate on the $15.2-billion budget for foreign operations last week, there was solid bipartisan support for most of the Bush administration's programs. That ranged from increased support for international HIV-AIDS funding to continued major backing for Israel, Egypt and other traditional overseas allies. [continues 1053 words]
