Navy: Spy plane secrets compromised by Chinese

CNN.Com / U.S. ^ | Thursday, September 11, 2003 Posted: 7:03 PM EDT (2303 GMT) | Associated Press

[Bobby777]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The crew of a Navy spy plane that landed on China's Hainan Island in April 2001 after colliding with a Chinese fighter jet did not destroy all classified materials aboard, and it is "highly probable" that some fell into Chinese hands, Navy investigators concluded.

[Bobby777]

A damaged U.S. Navy EP-3 sits in a corner of a Chinese airfield in June 2001.

[Ronin]

I am not surprised... but damn it all to hell anyhow.

What was that aircraft "commander" thinking?

Yes, I know it is one thing to advocate a water landing when it is not my neck in the sling, but dammit if he didn't have the balls to do what the SOP required in the situation, he shouldn't have been at the yoke.

Of course the Chinese got lots of secrets from that thing. Hell, they would have been friggin' stupid if they didn't take the opportunity that was handed to them on a silver platter.

And yes, I am fully aware that the chicoms caused this incident from the very start.

[Bobby777]

I'm not sure of the survival equipment on the EP-3E but would have to guess it includes something like Navy pilots that jump with vest, shark repellent, dye and liferaft (sometimes?) ... after the plane was stable it sure would have been nice to get low and get most of the crew off ... it sounds like it couldn't be put on autopilot for the commander / 2nd to get out easily ...

while I too am happy all of the crew survived I hated giving it to the ChiComs ... and you know the equipment may not have just stayed there ...

I wondered if he could have left it idling and roll off the end of the runway, possibly crashing and burning ... off course it would have probably rolled into critical structure or something and that would not have been good either ...

cat's out of the bag ... just how much of the cat we'll never know ...

[First_Salute]

Bump.

[Bobby777]

FYI ping ...

[Ready4Freddy]

The article seems to say that nothing that happened to the plane required destruction of classified material?

[First_Salute]

This whole affair has been a mess, from the top down, from the start.

To hear from the "experts" about the dangers of ditching, is to purposely consider not much else as a possibility, when there was much, otherwise to consider.

This stuff is not really all that big a secret; it just happens to be the aircraft equivalent of something closer to home.

Some whizbangs in brass dismissed the seriousness of it, by "assuring" the committee that, "Well, the Red Chinese would have come up with it in a few years anyway."

Brilliant, that.

[Orion78]

Bookmark

[Bobby777]

though not the same thing, I think about Walker and son compromising the U.S. Navy, especially the sub fleet I think, to the Russians back a few years ago ...

[Imal]

The U.S. military and intelligence communities have definitely not forgotten that little incident.

While no one will say it publicly, the way the chicoms handled that situation is going to cost them dearly down the road, and already has.

A lot of doors closed for China the day they took Americans hostage.

[Jumper]

Male, female crew, worried about all sorts of issues and not the security of the nation. This plane should have done anything - to include sacrific their lives if the equipment and classified material aboard could be kept from enemy hands. In this particular instance, both the humbling of the US and the loss of classified information/equipment justified the risks associated with the Chinese adventure. Of course, maybe this was necessary after the Laurl Hughes trade channels were closed down:)

[ETERNAL WARMING]

But let's just keep on doing business there. After all, profits are all that matters. ~sarcasm off~

[fire_eye]

This plane should have done anything - to include sacrific their lives if the equipment and classified material aboard could be kept from enemy hands.

There shouldn't be any need. The plane should have been equipped with Thermite destruction devices strategically located everywhere necessary, with both timed and a dead-man activation systems. We have many systems fielded that way - including document destruction systems. Marines in field command posts have thermite grenades available to place on filing cabinets in case they get overrun.

Navy is criminally negligent in this. Air Force Security is *laughing* at them (Trust me on this one...). What *should* have happened - and what any decent security officer would have planned in advance in this case - is that the plane should have exploded in flames, with multiple thermite detonations, about 2 minutes after the last soldier exited, arming the self-destruct mechanism on the way out.

This is a no-brainer... Navy security is *criminally* negligent in this. The individual soldiers are completely innocent.

[quietolong]

What I said on this a long time ago

China Admits Interrogating Air Crew(Hostages)& (..Standoff Enters 2nd Week-CNN Pro-China LoveFeast)
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3ad0c497477a.htm#117

[Bobby777]

The plane should have been equipped with Thermite destruction devices

that's what I was thinking ... idle the taxing aircraft *away* from large objects (other planes, buildings) to about 15 mph, everybody jump out, last man sets the Thermite charges or so and claim the plane was already on "fire" and had to be abandoned ... crash equipment might have gotten to it, but I doubt it ... it would have been a good burn ... the ChiComs can still catch RV-135's, etc. with their fighters ... I hope we're taking the appropriate precautions ...

[MeekOneGOP]

Thanks for the post and ping. Under the circumstances, it
appears that the crew did everything they could, imho ...

The report, which was released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by Jane's Defense Weekly, blamed the Chinese fighter pilot for the collision and did not fault the Navy crew for failing to complete the destruction of classified information aboard the EP-3.

< snip >

Although not required at that point, the crew began to destroy classified material, the report said. Some material was jettisoned out a hatch, and equipment was smashed with an ax and other hard objects, such as metal containers. Upon landing on Hainan Island, some of the remaining classified papers were shredded.

[yonif]

I was living in China during the time of this crisis.

[Bobby777]

I was living in China during the time of this crisis

interesting ... what were you doing in China? ... school? ...

[yonif]

Family living there, job-related. I was there in Beijing for 2 years, during which I went to the international school there.