TRAGEDY IN PERU SKIES

WHEN THE UNITED STATES and Peru established a joint program to force or
shoot down planes suspected of drug smuggling, it was hardly anyone's
intention to kill a missionary and her daughter. But that's what
happened on April 20, when a Peruvian jet attacked a Cessna seaplane,
killing American missionary Veronica "Roni" Bowers and her 7-month-old
daughter.

Her husband, Jim, and their 6-year-old son, Cory, survived the crash.
Pilot Kevin Donaldson, who was able to land the plane, also survived,
and has undergone surgery on both legs.

The tragic series of events began when the missionaries' plane was first
spotted by a U.S. aircraft carrying three CIA-hired Americans and a
bilingual Peruvian air force officer who serves as the liaison to his
service.

Under the anti-drug smuggling program, once an American surveillance
team finds a plane, it is up to the Peruvians to check it out -- search
for a flight plan, send up a jet for a closer look and, ultimately,
decide whether to shoot it down if it fails to respond to radio
contacts, signals to land and warning shots.

Officials who have seen a transcript of audio tapes of what happened in
the minutes before the incident say the Americans repeatedly expressed
concerns that the plane did not appear to be involved in drug
trafficking; it was flying straight, level and well inside Peruvian
territory, not low, evasive and hugging the border for a quick getaway
and it had several people in it, unlike most drug runs, in which there
is only the pilot.

What went wrong after the sighting and reporting of the plane by
Americans remains unclear.

Peruvian officers contacted on the ground about the Cessna said they
were unable to locate a flight plan for the plane, so they sent up an
A-37 jet that flew near the Cessna and visually noted its tail number,
OB1408

According to the tapes on the U.S. plane, the Americans recommended the
Peruvians take such steps as trying to contact the Cessna by radio, and
they urged that no hostile action be taken unless the Cessna tried to
take evasive maneuvers.

The Peruvian officer on board, meanwhile, urged the fighter to fire
warning shots if the aircraft ignored instructions to land. After the
jet opened fire, the pilot of the missionary plane could be heard
shouting, "They are killing us!" as he spoke with the air control tower
in the city of Iquitos. The tape did not make it clear whether warning
shots were fired.

The tragedy prompted U.S. authorities to suspend the program in which
U.S. surveillance planes passed information about suspected
drug-smuggling flights onto Peru's air force, which then decided whether
to force or shoot down the plane. The governments are conducting a joint
investigation.

We agree with House Intelligence Committee Chairman Porter Goss, R-Fla.,
who said, "My hope is that when this is over that we still have a
program and we still have friendly relations with Peru." However, it is
imperative that the investigation be thorough and that clear procedures
are established and followed if the program to fight drug smuggling in
the air is to continue.