Posted at 7:35 p.m., Tuesday, July 3, 2001

Disassembled spy plane arrives in Hawai'i

Associated Press

An Antonov-124 taxis after landing at Hickam Air Force Base today. The fuselage of the Navy spy plane that collided with a China jet fighter and the equipment used to disassemble the Navy plane were packed into the Antonov. Associated Press photo

PEARL HARBOR — Pieces of a disassembled U.S. Navy spy plane arrived in Hawai'i on today, about three months after the aircraft's collision with a Chinese fighter jet sparked a crisis in U.S.-China relations.

The fuselage of the EP-3E and equipment used to dismantle the plane were packed into an Antonov-124 cargo aircraft, which landed at Hickam Air Force Base at 6:09 p.m. — about 12 hours after the plane left southern China's Hainan island. The plane stopped in Manila for refueling before departing for Hawai'i.

"Things went extremely smoothly," Navy Cmdr. John Fleming of the U.S. Pacific Command said of the departure from China. "It was a very well-orchestrated operation."

He said civilian technicians were able to finish well before the 25-day target date of July 11 because of ideal weather conditions, lack of mechanical problems and Chinese cooperation.

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

The EP-3E was to be transported tomorrow to a Lockheed Martin facility in Marietta, Ga. Other parts of the aircraft were flown to Kadena Air Base on the Japanese island of Okinawa.

A Pentagon spokesman, Rear Adm. Craig Quigley, said the Navy expects to repair the plane and return it to service. But if that turns out to be too expensive, the Navy has plans to replace it.

The Pentagon on today left open the possibility of junking the plane.

The Navy plane, loaded with sophisticated electronic surveillance equipment, made an emergency landing April 1 on Hainan island after colliding with the Chinese fighter 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.

But China softened its tone considerably after a deal was struck last month to dismantle the aircraft and ship it home, seemingly indicating a desire to moderate the long-term effect on ties with Washington.

The United States had wanted to repair the plane and fly it out of Hainan under its own power, but China refused to allow that.

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