Peru regrets missionary's death, but says too soon to place blame

Veronica Bowers and infant daughter, Charity, died in the attack. Jim Bowers and son, Cory, escaped unhurt

In this story: Americans' remains returned for burial Couple spent 8 years in Peru RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Peru's ambassador offered regrets Tuesday for the killings of two Americans by a Peruvian pilot but said it's too early to assign blame for the incident.

Veronica Bowers, 35, and her 7-month-old daughter Charity died Friday when a Peruvian fighter -- guided by a U.S. surveillance aircraft looking for drug smugglers -- intercepted a plane carrying American missionaries over the Amazon jungle and shot it down.

RESOURCES Donaldson's flight plan, obtained from North American Float Plane Service     AUDIO Father of pilot Kevin Donaldson described what happened 392K/35 sec. AIFF or WAV sound     MESSAGE BOARD Share your thoughts on the war on drugs   ALSO Pentagon in '94 opposed Peru shoot-down policy

Ambassador Carlos Alzamora rejected U.S. assertions that Peru's air force failed to follow proper procedures when the pilot fired on the Cessna seaplane, saying an investigation was under way.

"We need to know for sure what caused this incident, and how to prevent its repetition," Alzamora said.

"As you realize, this is a rather confused and complicated incident, since it involves the presence of several planes, several systems in operation, conflicting reports. Therefore, until this investigation is over, we cannot get any conclusion and blame anybody," he said.

U.S. officials said a Peruvian officer aboard the surveillance plane mistook the seaplane for a drug-trafficking aircraft and ordered the Peruvian pilot to shoot it down despite protests from the U.S. crew.

"The United States plane in the area raised questions and the questions were not fully addressed by the Peruvian aircraft," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Monday.

The Peruvian Air Force said the pilot of the Cessna failed to file a flight plan -- leading to the suspicion that the plane carried drugs -- and entered Peruvian air space from Brazil. Peruvian authorities said the pilot did not respond to attempts at radio communication from the military plane.

"The only thing I can tell you is that the air force followed the procedures," air force spokesman Cmdr. Robert Roca said.

Americans' remains returned for burial

The U.S. and Peruvian planes were operating under a 7-year- old joint program aimed at monitoring and stopping drug-smuggling planes in the Andean nations of South America. U.S. authorities have suspended the anti-drug surveillance flights in Peru pending an investigation of the shooting.

The Bush administration Monday dispatched an inter-agency team to Lima to conduct a joint investigation with the Peruvian government. Alzamora said he extended "our deepest regrets and the sorrow of the whole nation" for the deaths to the administration and the missionary association involved.

Meanwhile, the bodies of Bowers and her daughter were returned to the United States for burial Tuesday morning. Bowers' husband Jim; the couple's 6-year-old son, Cory; and pilot Kevin Donaldson survived the incident.

Donaldson landed the crippled seaplane on the Amazon River despite being badly wounded in both legs. He was in fair condition after surgery Monday at a hospital in West Reading, Pennsylvania.

"It was the Lord obviously who landed that aircraft, because I didn't have the abilities," he said.

Services for the mother and daughter are scheduled Friday in Fruitport, Michigan, with burial set for Sunday in Pensacola, Florida.

Couple spent 8 years in Peru

They missionaries were part of the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism. In a statement posted on the Pennsylvania-based association's Web site, Jim Bowers gave thanks for the condolences he has received and "for the great way the media has depicted my wife's dedication to her ministry and her love for the Peruvian people."

The couple had been in Peru for eight years, working on a riverboat, traveling the Amazon and its tributaries, ministering in villages, and working in medical clinics and literacy programs.

Alzamora said Friday's incident would likely lead to changes in how Peru and the United States work together to intercept drug smugglers -- but he said the program has been successful so far.

Between 1994 and 1997, Peru shot down about 25 suspected drug planes on their way from camps in Peru's Amazon to Colombian cocaine refineries. While the joint enforcement program is on hold, "They will have the time of their life," Alzamora said.

"This is why I suppose that this will be a short time, and that the operation will be resumed, because they have proved so effective that 70 percent of the coca cultivation area has been reduced," he said.

U.S. to send team to probe missionary plane shooting
April 23, 2001
Bush calls missionary plane incident 'terrible tragedy'
April 22, 2001
Plane shoot down: Drug intercept flights suspended in Peru
April 21, 2001
Peru air force downs U.S. missionary plane
April 21, 2001
Two Americans killed when private plane shot down in Peru
April 20, 2001

Peruvian Embassy in Washington, DC
American Embassy in Lima, Peru

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