JET CARRYING AMERICAN INSTRUCTOR CRASHES

LIMA, Peru -- An air force jet fighter carrying a Peruvian pilot and an
American instructor has crashed off Peru's northern coast during a training
mission, the air force said Friday.

The A-37B jet went down Thursday afternoon in the Pacific Ocean between the
coastal towns of Paita and Bayovar, about 535 miles northwest of Lima, the
air force said.

A Peruvian air force spokesman said that navy ships, air force planes and
police helicopters were searching for the plane Friday and authorities were
investigating the accident.

The flight was being conducted under the joint U.S.-Peruvian program to
fight drug trafficking, the air force said.

A U.S. Embassy spokesman, citing U.S. privacy laws, refused to release the
name of the American instructor.