CIA implicated in plane crash

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U.S. agents reportedly acted 'outside the law' in 2001 incident that killed Mich. mom, daughter.
Detroit News wire reports
WASHINGTON -- The CIA tried to cover up its negligence in the 2001 downing of a private plane that caused the deaths of two Michigan residents, according to an audit by the agency's inspector general.

The agency's role in the incident "is a blot, a dark stain," said U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra of Michigan, ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, who released the audit's conclusions. "Parts of the CIA were acting outside the law."

Muskegon resident Veronica Bowers, a Christian missionary, and her 7-month-old daughter, Charity, died in the crash. The pilot, although wounded, managed to land the plane. Bowers' husband and their 6-year-old son were not injured.

The agency's inspector general concluded that CIA officers in Peru consistently ignored rules of engagement in connection with the downing of at least 10 aircraft suspected of carrying narcotics over the South American country. CIA managers covered up the problems and knowingly gave false accounts to government officials investigating whether agency employees committed crimes.

An August 2001 State Department report said a Peruvian Air Force plane, in coordination with a CIA surveillance aircraft, shot down the Bowers plane over Peru after mistakenly suspecting it to be carrying illegal drugs. Language problems between CIA and Peruvian officials contributed to confusion that led to targeting the plane, the State Department report said.

Hoekstra, whose western Michigan district was home to the Bowerses, said that CIA Inspector General John Helgerson found that CIA officials did not follow correct procedures in downing the plane. The CIA had assured lawmakers and the Justice Department that the procedures were followed, Hoekstra said.

A CIA spokesman said the agency's current director, Michael Hayden, learned of the then-incomplete inspector general's report in August and "recognized the seriousness" of the findings, though he had not yet decided how to respond.

Hayden now wants an "outside expert, one who would know the complex issues involved in an air-interdiction program" to also look into the matter, CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano said.
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