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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 2000)
Army closes case on fatal helicopter accident By Robert Burns The Associated Press WASHINGTON — After a months-long investigation, the Army has failed to determine what caused the fatal crash last spring of an Apache helicopter on training maneuvers in Albania, the Army said Monday. Two soldiers killed in the acci dent were the only U.S. troop ca sualties in the NATO war against Yugoslavia. The Apache investigation has been closed, and the cause will be listed as unknown “due to the de gree of damage sustained during the crash sequence,” Army spokesman Col. Edwin Veiga said. In what he described as a highly unusual outcome, Veiga said investigators could find no definitive answer to what caused the crash. On May 5, the Apache was leading a formation of five heli copters over mountainous terrain in northern Albania when its nose pitched up and the chopper rolled to the right. It fell 150 feet and exploded in flames on the ground, according to the Dayton Daily News, which obtained an Army report on the crash. Chief Warrant Officer David Gibbs, 38, of Massillon, Ohio, and Chief Warrant Officer Kevin Re ichert, 28, of Chetek, Wis., were killed. Early indications pointed to mechanical failure, but Veiga said investigators were ultimately un able to determine a cause. Apaches are the Army’s best at tack helicopters and were used extensively in the 1991 Gulf War against Iraq. Flown with a crew of two, they are armed with as many as 16 laser-guided Hellfire mis siles designed to knock out tanks. In addition, they carry 70 mm rockets and a 30 mm cannon that can fire 625 rounds per minute. Barak, Arafat meet after bombing By Dina Kraft The Associated Press HADERA, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestin ian leader Yasser Arafat held a se cret meeting Monday night just hours after a pipe bomb suspected of being aimed at derailing the peace process injured 22 Israelis, most of them only slightly. The meeting came as Palestini ans were accusing Israel of reneg ing on its commitments by post poning a West Bank troop withdrawal, due to have taken place Thursday. Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh told Israel TV the meeting was aimed at pushing the peace process forward. The two leaders were to have met later this week in Washington, but Barak canceled his trip following Mon day’s postponement of peace talks with Syria. Meanwhile, Israel Radio report ed that Barak was asking Arafat for a two-month delay in reaching a framework agreement for a final peace treaty. The sides had agreed to develop a framework agreement by Feb. 13. Barak aide Gadi Baltiansky said that Israel hoped to meet the Feb ruary deadline, but that “if not, we’ll reach an agreement with them [the Palestinians] for some thing else.” Monday’s meeting at an undis closed site demonstrated both leaders’ commitment to negotia tions despite the pipe bomb attack in the northern Israeli city of Hadera. Police officials said the blast was probably carried out by ■ Islamic militants who hope to de rail the peace process, although the largest hard-line Muslim group, Hamas, denied any involvement. A small, little-known Lebanese group, Omar Mukhtar, claimed re sponsibility for the blast in a fax sent to Lebanese state-run televi sion. However, Israeli police said they had no information that the group was involved. Despite quick condemnation of the attack by Arafat’s Palestinian Authority, opponents of the peace process were quick to use the bomb ing to rally opposition for the talks. “Israel cannot run negotiations under threat and under intimida tion,” opposition legislator Ruby Rivlin said. Barak said the attack would not affect peace talks. “We are a strong people, very tough,” he said. “We understand the missions before us, and no type of terror will break our spirit. ’ ’ The Palestinians have been frus trated with the progress of the talks and were infuriated Monday when Barak postponed a withdrawal from the West Bank that had been scheduled for Thursday. Barak said he needed the three-week de lay to focus on the Syrian track. The withdrawal was to be one of the last interim withdrawals before final peace treaty negotiations start next month. The Palestinians hoped it meant Israeli forces would leave three Arab suburbs of Jerusalem, claimed by both sides as their capital. But Barak insisted the suburbs would not be part of the next withdrawal. Other Israeli officials tried to soothe Palestinian anger, saying the talks were progressing accord ing to plan. “It is natural that there should be disagreements, but this is not a cri sis,” Foreign Minister David Levy said. Barak won elections in May promising to revive the Palestinian and Syrian peace processes, which were frozen for three years by his hard-line predecessors. He pledges to have agreements in place this year. Troubles on both fronts — Barak postponed talks with the Syrians on Monday — make that seem increasingly unlikely. In the placid, tree-lined town of Hadera, the blast left residents feel ing that peace, whatever its dimen sions, would not remove the threat of terror. “I believe that we must have peace, but in the meantime every one must look around and be aware,” said Eliran Assaf, a univer sity student who shoved his wife and daughter inside a bank when he heard the blast. Alastair Meir, a 75-year-old Pol ish-born Holocaust survivor treat ed for shock, said he refused to let such attacks rattle him. “The trash can blew up right next to the bench where I was sit ting,” he said, sitting up in his hos pital bed. “I sit there every day, and I’ll keep on sitting there, because it’s the best spot in Hadera. ” Precision Cuts GET TAN IN 2000 10 laydowns* for $35 4 (pay an extra $15 and use ^ any bed in the house!) I one month *4 unlimited in the M stand ups for 4 only $30 ^ With the purchase of Polarity or Climax tanning 1 f accelerator. Wl 1-3143 More than half the Army’s fleet of 743 Apaches has been ground ed since last November to replace their tail rotor bearings or to re place transmission parts. The de cision to ground the choppers was made when the Army deter mined that the tail rotor bearing was the cause of an Apache crash in January 1999. Veiga said all Apaches de ployed abroad have been repaired and returned to service. 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