Word: plane
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Captain Will C. Rogers III ordered two missiles launched at the Airbus, a Navy board of inquiry concluded, for two reasons only: the plane was heading directly toward his ship in a combat situation, and it had not responded to twelve radio demands that it identify itself. Thus it had to be considered hostile. In a 53-page unclassified version of a 1,000-page report, the Pentagon admitted that the Iranian aircraft was not descending toward the Vincennes or emitting military identifying signals, as the Navy originally claimed...
...plane was in the air no more than a few minutes when disaster struck. Witnesses say black smoke belched from the aircraft's fuselage. Seconds later the plane was engulfed in a ball of fire, and villagers on the ground watched with horror as it plummeted to the earth, tumbling nose over tail like a toy as it fell. The huge turboprop bounced twice after hitting the sandy plain, then came down a third and final time, exploding on impact. All 30 people aboard were killed, including Zia, 64; Raphel, 45; Brigadier General Herbert Wassom, 49, the chief...
Even before teams of U.S. and Pakistani investigators had begun sorting through the wreckage of the plane, many were convinced that its passengers were victims of terrorism. Officials speculated that Zia's plane was either struck by a surface-to-air missile or, more likely, blown up by a bomb planted aboard and detonated by remote control from the ground. Said Riaz Mohammed Khan, a spokesman for the Pakistan government: "Personally, I am 100% sure -- not 99%, 100% -- that it was sabotage...
...Khad did not blow up Zia's plane, the President had a long list of other enemies with a motive for doing so, including militant political opposition groups and dissidents within the army. "Zia didn't have many friends left," said a U.S. congressional staffer. "Those who didn't dislike him hated...
...post. A quiet man with an aloof manner, Baig is described by those who know him as a professional soldier with no political ambitions. Baig attended the tank trials along with Zia but had to make another stop on the way to Rawalpindi and therefore returned on a different plane. Unlike some other generals, Baig treated Junejo and his government with respect, and Western diplomats hope he will support a return to civilian rule. Few believe, however, that the military will readily give up its traditional prerogatives. One Western diplomat described the domination of the emergency council by military officers...