MISSIONARIES: U.S., PERU EXPLANATIONS OF TRAGEDY DON'T FLY

April 24, 2001 -- An American Baptist group raised sharp questions
yesterday about official U.S. and Peruvian explanations of the shooting
down of a plane carrying missionaries. Peruvian authorities claim they
thought the plane was being used by drug smugglers because no flight plan
had been filed.

But the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism, whose missionaries
were aboard the Cessna 185 shot down by the Peruvian air force Friday,
posted the flight plan on its Web site yesterday.

The disclosure came as U.S. and Peruvian authorities engaged in a series of
charges and countercharges over who was responsible for the tragic blunder
that resulted in the deaths of American missionary Veronica Bowers and her
7-month-old daughter, Charity.

CIA spokesman Mike Mansfield said an American crew on contract to the CIA
were flying a Citation surveillance aircraft on a routine anti-drug mission
when they spotted the Cessna approaching from Brazil.

The crew notified the Peruvian liaison officer on board that the Cessna was
a possible drug plane and requested he check to see if it had filed a
flight plan.

The Peruvian air force could not locate a flight plan and the officer then
requested that an interceptor jet try to identify the plane.

"At that point our involvement in the decision-making stopped," Mansfield
told The Post.

The rules call for the Peruvians to try to contact the suspect plane. If
that fails, the Peruvian pilot is to waggle the plane's wings to signal the
other plane to land, and then fire warning shots, U.S. officials said.

The Peruvians claim their officer was unable to contact the Cessna.

But the Cessna's pilot, Kevin Donaldson, tried urgently to respond, and was
also talking with a control tower.

Officials now believe the mix-up occurred because the Peruvian jet was
using a military-only radio frequency.

U.S. officials said the Peruvians then "rushed from Phase Two to Phase
Three," firing at the plane without the proper warnings.