Posted on 10/12/2002 10:58:30 AM PDT by Freedom of Speech Wins
U.S. counterterrorism expert killed in plane crash in Australia
Sun Sep 29, 5:23 AM ET
BRISBANE, Australia - One of the six victims of last week's plane crash on an exclusive Australian island resort was an American counterterrorism expert on his honeymoon, a newspaper reported Sunday.
The man's new wife, also a counterterrorism strategist, was also supposed to have been on the plane but gave up her seat at the last minute to allow a family of four to sit together on the ill-fated flight Thursday, The Sunday Telegraph reported.
Investigators suspect the plane suffered a mechanical failure. Media reports said air safety officials were testing samples of the plane's fuel, suggesting that it may have been contaminated. However, a spokesman for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said it was standard practice to carry out such tests.
In a press conference on Hamilton Island Sunday, the wife of Christopher Le Gallo, 33, who died in the crash, spoke of how the memory of their brief happiness has helped her through the tragedy.
Laura Le Gallo, who was married by her pastor father just eight days ago, said they had spent "every minute" of their brief honeymoon "loving and enjoying each other so much."
"On Thursday, we had spent one of the most amazing days of our life scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef," Le Gallo said. "This was a dream of Chris's that I also shared."
The Telegraph said the couple, from Virginia, both worked for SAIC, a San Diego, California-based research and engineering company.
The Telegraph — which did not cite its source for the information — said Christopher Le Gallo was "a leading counterterrorism and nuclear strategist." Meanwhile, his wife had authored this year "an analysis of how a nuclear, chemical or biological attack on American air bases would affect combat capabilities," the report said.
Le Gallo's father, Andre — a veteran CIA ( news - web sites) agent who served in Africa, Hungary, Romania and Iran in the 1960s and 1970s — arrived on the island with his wife late Saturday, the newspaper said.
Le Gallo's parents had flown in from the United States and spent the night in Sydney, where they were consoled by longtime friend, U.S. Ambassador to Australia Tom Schieffer, the report said.
The father and a friend of Laura Le Gallo also arrived at the resort on Saturday.
The plane crashed Thursday after taking off from Hamilton Island, about 600 kilometers (370 miles) north of Queensland state capital, Brisbane, on its way to nearby Lindeman Island. Police said the crash investigation was being handled by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
The other people on the plane were a family of four tourists from New Zealand and an Australian pilot.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority said Saturday that the pilot of the plane's previous flight had told investigators the Piper Cherokee Six aircraft had shown no indication of problems.
Family and friends of the victims attended an emotional memorial service on Hamilton Island on Sunday.
Maybe she's really hooked on some guy with the "wrong" side.
I guess you just view things from all the angles these days.
Sac
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