PILOT WORKED FOR U.S. CONTRACTOR

BOGOTA, Colombia -- The pilot who died when his helicopter crashed last week
was an El Salvadoran working on anti-drug missions for a U.S. State
Department contractor, a U.S. Embassy official said Monday.

Thursday's crash of the Huey helicopter killed six men, including pilot
Eduardo Gil. Gil worked for DynCorp of Reston, Va., the embassy official
said on condition of anonymity.

DynCorp is contracted by the State Department to fly crop dusters -- for
fumigating drug crops -- and search-and-rescue helicopters. DynCorp also
provides pilots for Colombian army helicopters.

The helicopter crashed while evacuating U.S.-trained soldiers injured while
providing ground cover for the fumigation planes. Rebels, who earn huge
profits by "taxing" Colombia's cocaine producers, often fire at the
fumigation planes.

The helicopter picked up two injured soldiers and then crashed between
Solita and Valparaiso in a jungle region 260 miles south of Bogota. The
crash is being investigated.

Another DynCorp contractor, a Panamanian employed as a computer technician,
also died Thursday when he walked into the propeller of a spray plane in
Villa Garzon in the southern state of Putumayo, U.S. officials said.

Drug trafficking fuels Colombia's 38-year civil war by providing profits to
rebels and their paramilitary foes. About 3,500 people die every year in
fighting pitting leftist guerrillas against government troops and outlawed
right-wing paramilitaries.