Spy plane's parts return to America

After landing in Hawaii, a Russian cargo plane was to fly on to its final destination, Georgia.

©Associated Press,
published July 5, 2001

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii -- A cavernous, Russian-made cargo plane has ferried the bulk of a disassembled U.S. Navy spy plane back onto U.S. soil, three months after it created friction in China-U.S. relations.

The Antonov-124 arrived at Hickam Air Force Base near Pearl Harbor on Tuesday with the fuselage of the EP-3E and the equipment used to dismantle the plane. It stopped in the Philippines for refueling before departing for Hawaii.

The cargo plane was scheduled to leave Hawaii on Wednesday night for Dobbins Air Force Base in Marietta, Ga., which is near a repair facility of Lockheed Martin Corp., the plane's manufacturer.

"They do fully intend to either reuse these pieces in other air frames or rebuild this aircraft," Navy Cmdr. John Fleming of the U.S. Pacific Command said of Lockheed Martin.

The $80-million Navy plane, loaded with sophisticated electronic surveillance equipment, made an emergency landing April 1 on Hainan after colliding with a Chinese fighter jet sent to intercept it over the South China Sea.

The collision and China's 11-day detention of the U.S. crew caused the worst tensions between Beijing and Washington since the bombing of China's embassy in Yugoslavia by U.S. planes in 1999.

China rejected a U.S. proposal to repair the plane and fly it home, apparently hoping to punish Washington by forcing it to destroy its aircraft in order to retrieve it.

The two sides eventually compromised, agreeing the EP-3E would be transported out, but disassembled in such a way that it could be put back together again.

Civilian technicians finished disassembling the plane before the 25-day target date of July 11 due to ideal weather conditions, Chinese cooperation and lack of mechanical problems, Fleming said.

"By every measure, the cooperation from the host nation was outstanding," Fleming said.

"The disassembly process was a very deliberate process," Fleming said. "They actually deconstructed this airplane using blueprints and diagrams from the factory. They deliberately disassembled this aircraft very carefully and scientifically."

The most severely damaged parts of the EP-3E, including sections of the nose, wing and tail, were flown to Kadena Air Base on the Japanese island of Okinawa.

"It's not feasible or economically advantageous to take those totally damaged pieces back," Fleming said.

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