State Dept.: U.S. gave Peru missionary plane's location

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The following is a statement issued by a State Department official Saturday night regarding the missionary plane downing in Peru:

According to a State Department official, yesterday, April 20, a Peruvian Air Force aircraft shot down a private airplane carrying an American missionary family and their American pilot in northern Peru near the Colombian border.

The plane was heading to the Peruvian town of Iquitos, having earlier departed from the town of Leticia in Columbia. It was mistaken for an airplane transporting contraband drugs. Of the four family members, the mother and infant daughter were killed. The father and son were not injured, while the pilot was wounded in the leg. Consulate officials from our embassy in Lima have gone to the area and are assisting them.

We are very saddened by this tragic incident and extend our sympathies and our condolences to the families, their friends, and relatives. We are doing everything possible to help them in coping with their difficult situation. U.S. embassy personnel joined the father and son as they flew to Iquitos on a Peruvian government aircraft. The pilot has been receiving treatment for his leg injury in a clinic near the site of their downed airplane.

U.S. embassy counselor officers have traveled to Iquitos to help the father and son as they make arrangements to return the U.S. and bring back the remains of their loved ones. We appreciate the Peruvian Air Force statement on this incident issued yesterday. In it, Peruvian authorities express their deep regret for the loss of human life and note that they launched an immediate search and rescue mission following the downing of the missionary airplane and are carrying out a thorough investigation.

Pending a thorough investigation and review by Peruvian and U.S officials of how this tragic incident took place, the provision of location data by the U.S. and the conduct of interdiction flights by Peru have been suspended.

An unarmed U.S. government tracking aircraft was in the area and provided location data for the subsequent intercept mission that was conducted by the Peruvian Air Force.

For a number of years, the U.S. has provided assistance to Peru in detecting and monitoring suspect aircraft passing through designated airspace in an effort to stem the flow of illegal drugs. This is a U.S. government program in which a number of U.S. agencies are involved, including the State Department, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of Defense, the Drug Enforcement Agency, and others.

Peruvian authorities are responsible for identifying the aircraft and deciding on any action. We are working closely with Peruvian authorities to determine exactly how this tragic incident took place.

Plane shootdown: Drug intercept flights suspended in Peru
April 21, 2001
Two Americans killed when private plane shot down in Peru
April 20, 2001

U.S. Department of State
Peruvian Embassy in Washington, DC
American Embassy in Lima, Peru

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