U.S., China continue to hammer out
details for return of surveillance plane
By Lisa Burgess,
Washington bureau
WASHINGTON — The four-person team from Pacific Command sent to negotiate details
of dismantling the crippled Navy EP-3 and returning it to the United States has completed
high-level talks with Chinese officials in Beijing and is now on Hainan Island, where they
are pinning down technical details of the recovery plan, said Rear Adm. Craig Quigley, the
Pentagon’s spokesman.
The EP-3 will be dismantled and flown back to the United States aboard two
Russian-designed AN-124 cargo aircraft, Quigley said. The AN-124 is the largest cargo
aircraft in the world.
Technicians plan to disassemble the surveillance plane into four pieces: the wings, the
fuselage, and the tail section. A civilian Defense Department engineer who specializes in
runways will arrive on Hainan late Thursday EDT to assess the structure of the Lingshui
runway, Quigley said.
Once the engineer completes his work, it will take about five days to fly to Hainan the
necessary complement of engineers, technicians, and specialized equipment, Quigley said.
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