U.S.-HIRED PILOT DIES IN CRASH OF ANTI-DRUG FLIGHT

A U.S.-contracted pilot was killed in Colombia when his crop-dusting
plane crashed on a drug-eradication mission, the U.S. Embassy in
Bogota said.

Rebels who oppose spraying of drug crops and operate near the southern
Colombia accident site were not believed to have fired on the plane.
The embassy said it was investigating the incident. It did not
identify the pilot, who was described only as a non-U.S. citizen hired
by Pentagon contractor DynCorp.

Colombia's drug-eradication program has received more than $1 billion
in U.S. aid. Rebels often fire on crop dusters spraying coca, the
plant from which cocaine is made.