U.S. 'REGRETS' SHOOTDOWN

Missionary's Family To Be Compensated

WASHINGTON - On the eve of President Bush's trip to Latin America, his
administration said Wednesday that the downing of a small plane over Peru
last year "should never have happened," and that it is prepared compensate
the families of the victims aboard.

"We offer our sincere condolences to the victims and their families," said
a statement by White House press secretary Ari Fleischer.

A Pennsylvania-based missionary group's Cessna float plane was shot down by
a Peruvian jet in April after a CIA-operated surveillance plane
misidentified it as a possible drug-smuggling flight.

American missionary Veronica "Roni" Bowers, 35, and her infant daughter,
Charity, were killed. Her husband, Jim Bowers, and the couple's 6-year-old
son, Cory, who were also aboard the plane, escaped serious injury. Pilot
Kevin Donaldson, who sustained serious leg wounds, crash-landed the plane
on the Amazon River.

[The Bowerses met as students at Piedmont Bible College in Winston-Salem,
and Jim Bowers graduated in 1993 with a mechanics license from the
Missionary Aviation Institute in Davie County. Donaldson earned his
commercial pilot's license from the institute, which is affiliated with
Piedmont Bible College. Jim Bowers' mother and brother live in Wake County
east of Garner.]

Jim Bowers, Veronica Bowers' parents, Donaldson and the Association of
Baptists for World Evangelism have been jointly trying to reach a
settlement with the government. They could not be reached for comment
Wednesday.

A senior U.S. official who asked not to be identified said that although no
price could be assigned to losses suffered by victims and their families,
the government was prepared to provide "appropriate compensation." The
officials did not know how much.

Stopping just short of an apology, the statement said: "The United States
government and the government of Peru deeply regret this tragic event and
the resulting deaths of Veronica and Charity Bowers and injuries to Jim and
Cory Bowers, and their pilot, Kevin Donaldson."

The government is not admitting liability or assigning blame to the CIA by
issuing the statement or offering a settlement, the U.S. official said.

"It should never have happened, and efforts are under way to prevent such
tragedies in the future," Fleischer said.

The action is the result of a request by the families for a statement of
regret, the official said.

"We offer our sincere condolences to the victims and their families.
Neither government believes that Mr. Donaldson was responsible for this
incident," Fleischer's statement said.

A U.S.-Peruvian inquiry concluded that procedural errors, language problems
and an overloaded communications system contributed to the downing. The
U.S. crew later realized the flight was innocent but couldn't stop the
Peruvians from shooting.

A Senate committee recommended in October that the CIA no longer run drug
interdiction flights over Peru, blaming errors by the Peruvian air force
and poor U.S. management of the program.

The interdiction flights were suspended after the tragedy, and Fleischer
said no decision has been made about whether to continue them.

Shortly after the plane was shot down, Bush called the incident a "terrible
tragedy" but defended the U.S. action.

He leaves for Latin America today and visits Peru on Saturday.

The White House statement said: "The U.S. Government is currently reviewing
the findings and recommendations of the joint U.S.-Peruvian accident
investigation report and a separate investigation of the overall air
interdiction program.

"As we consider whether to resume the air interdiction program, we will
carefully examine the recommendations of these reports. We will also
consider the concerns expressed by the U.S. Congress and the public, to
ensure that any renewed program focuses on enhanced safety procedures."