Russians To Fly US Spy Plane Home
http://www.military.com/Content/MoreContent?file=FL_russianplane_061101
Associated Press
June 09, 2001
MOSCOW (AP) - A Russian air cargo company said Saturday it has been
picked to fly a dismantled US navy spy plane out of China.
Leonid Shirobokov, a spokesman for Polyot, told the Interfax and
ITAR-Tass news agencies that his company had won the contract, which
was announced last week by the U.S. Defense Department.
He said a Russian Antonov 124-100 will take the EP-3 spy plane from the
military airfield on the Chinese island of Hainan, but he did not give a date
for the operation.
A Pentagon spokesman could not immediately confirm the Polyot
contract. Last week, the Defense Department said it was looking to hire
two Antonov aircraft for the job.
The U.S. aircraft collided with a Chinese fighter during a reconnaissance
flight on April 1. It made an emergency landing on Hainan Island off
southern China, and the crew was detained by the Chinese for 11 days.
Washington originally wanted to repair the plane and fly it home, but
China refused to allow it.
Pentagon officials said chartering a Russian Antonov, one of the largest
cargo aircraft in the world, was necessary because China had refused to
allow a U.S. military plane to come for the crippled aircraft.
They said dismantling the aircraft, packing it aboard the Antonov and
returning it to the United States would likely take several weeks.
Copyright 2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
http://www.military.com/Content/MoreContent?file=FL_russianplane_061101
Associated Press
June 09, 2001
MOSCOW (AP) - A Russian air cargo company said Saturday it has been
picked to fly a dismantled US navy spy plane out of China.
Leonid Shirobokov, a spokesman for Polyot, told the Interfax and
ITAR-Tass news agencies that his company had won the contract, which
was announced last week by the U.S. Defense Department.
He said a Russian Antonov 124-100 will take the EP-3 spy plane from the
military airfield on the Chinese island of Hainan, but he did not give a date
for the operation.
A Pentagon spokesman could not immediately confirm the Polyot
contract. Last week, the Defense Department said it was looking to hire
two Antonov aircraft for the job.
The U.S. aircraft collided with a Chinese fighter during a reconnaissance
flight on April 1. It made an emergency landing on Hainan Island off
southern China, and the crew was detained by the Chinese for 11 days.
Washington originally wanted to repair the plane and fly it home, but
China refused to allow it.
Pentagon officials said chartering a Russian Antonov, one of the largest
cargo aircraft in the world, was necessary because China had refused to
allow a U.S. military plane to come for the crippled aircraft.
They said dismantling the aircraft, packing it aboard the Antonov and
returning it to the United States would likely take several weeks.
Copyright 2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.