Saturday, April 14, 2001

By Sandra Jontz, Washington bureau

Elizabeth L. Burke / U.S. Navy Lt. Shane Osborn, mission commander of the U.S. Navy EP-3 aircraft involved in the April 1 accident with a Chinese fighter jet, addresses the crowd at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, Thursday. At left is Adm. Thomas B. Fargo, Commander In Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

WASHINGTON — He’s America’s newest hero.

Navy Lt. Shane Osborn has been lauded as the champion whose skill saved the lives of the 24 crewmembers aboard the reconnaissance airplane that collided two weeks ago with a Chinese fighter jet and was forced to make an emergency landing in the communist country.

The collision knocked the huge EP-3 Aries II plane out of control, causing it to fall between 5,000 and 8,000 feet before Osborn managed to stabilize the aircraft.

Osborn and the others were detained for 11 days on Hainan Island in China while diplomats from the two nations haggled over apologies and the crew’s release.

Now Osborn and the crew are headed to the squadron’s home base of Whidbey Island, Wash., for a heroes’ welcome.

Flying has been in Osborn’s blood since his youth, said his great-uncle, Bill Osborn.

"I remember when he was about 6 years old, he and his dad flew in the back seat of a Piper Cub," Bill Osborn said. "Shane sat on his dad’s lap and he liked it so much, that’s all he could talk about. Most of his life, he’s wanted to fly."

While still in high school at Norfolk Senior High School in his hometown of Norfolk, Neb., Osborn joined the Civil Air Patrol, an auxiliary of the Air Force made up of volunteers who primarily perform search and rescue and emergency missions.

He received his pilot’s license at age 16 and took to the skies. During high school, Osborn also worked as an orderly at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, now Faith Regional Health Services East in Norfolk, Bill Osborn said.

"This obviously makes us feel real proud," Bill Osborn said his great-nephew’s deed. "But like his father said, there were 23 other people aboard that plane. With that said, we’re absolutely pretty much overwhelmed with pride. Just to see him get off that plane in Honolulu was a real special event."

Bill Osborn, 75, lost contact with his great-nephew when the younger Osborn went off college at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, from which he graduated in 1996.

He remembers best the talent the young boy showed when playing wide receiver for the high school football team and trying his hand on the varsity basketball squad.

Norfolk Senior High School Principal Stephen Morton remembers Shane Osborn as a "very good student" who excelled in math and sciences. Shane Osborn completed advanced placement courses in chemistry, physics and calculus, said Morton, who was a teacher at the time but did not instruct Osborn.

Despite his popularity, Shane Osborn, 26, was a relatively quiet student, serious about his school work and football.

Following college, Osborn was commissioned in the Navy on June 21, 1996, and has attended various flight schools and programs. He made lieutenant in June 2000.

A celebratory air has overcome the town of 23,000 during the past couple of days, especially since news has hit about the amount of damage to the airplane and crewmembers reportedly thinking they were going to die, Morton said.

"It's been really exciting, and getting more exciting as we learn a lot more about his role and how hard it was to land the plane," Morton said.

No awards show up on Osborn’s service record, which is not uncommon for a pilot just out flight school and training, Navy spokeswoman Lt. Jane Alexander said.

The Navy has started a review process to determine if the crew is eligible for any type of award.

The process begins with the crew’s commanding officer, who will decide whether to nominate the members for any type of award, said Navy spokesman Lt. j.g. Steve Curry. From there, the nominations are reviewed by an awards board, which determines if the award is warranted. Typically, an operational commander will bestow the award.

Osborn is eligible for the Distinguished Flying Cross medal, given for heroism or extraordinary achievement in flight. The others could be considered for the Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal or the Navy Achievement Metal among others, Curry said.

Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. Craig Quigley described Osborn’s action as a "spectacular feat of airmanship to bring [the plane] down safely."

The unassuming football-player-turned pilot has even spoken with the president of the United States.

The Washington Post reported Bush spoke with Osborn via telephone on one leg of the return flight to American soil, saying: "As an old F-102 pilot, let me tell you, Shane, you did a heck of a job bringing that aircraft down. You made your country proud."

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