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.