U.S., China agree on spy plane return

The White House has confirmed an "agreement in principle" with China to dismantle the crippled EP-3 surveillance plane, load the parts in a transport plane and fly it back to the United States.

In China, the official Xinhua news agency quoted Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao as confirming a deal had been reached to take home the EP-3 in parts and "continue to negotiate on technical details."

A U.S. official said there was no timetable for the recovery operation.

"Details need to be worked out," the official said. The official also said the White House was pleased that the dismantling will be relatively minor and that the operation at least leaves open the possibility of the EP-3 being rebuilt, repaired and returned to service.

"We've always said we wanted the plane back and the next most efficient way, other than repairing it there, is to fly over and bring it back," the official said. "We are pleased we will not have to chop it up."

The removal of a crippled U.S. Navy surveillance plane from the Chinese island of Hainan would be expected to take "30 to 40 days" and require 16 technicians plus support personnel if the plane is to be removed aboard a giant transport plane rather than flown out as the U.S. would prefer, a senior military official told CNN.

When contacted by CNN, Pentagon officials were unaware of the report from a Chinese news agency suggesting that an agreement had been reached to remove the $80 million airplane aboard a chartered cargo plane.

Pentagon spokesmen insisted that the most "efficient and cost effective" means of returning the plane would be to repair it on Hainan and fly it out.

The heavily damaged EP-3E Aries II has been on a runway on Hainan since an April 1 mid-air collision with a Chinese F-8 fighter jet near the Chinese coast forced the Navy pilot to make an emergency landing on the island.

The 24 members of the flight crew were then detained for 11 days by the Chinese government.

The F-8 jet and its pilot were lost in the incident.

Dismantling the reconnaissance aircraft and placing the fuselage, tail, and wing sections aboard one or two transport planes would take "three to four times as long as it would to repair it" and fly it out, the senior official said.

The U.S. has been in discussions with a British transport firm that could provide a giant Antonov An-124 transport plane for the task, officials have told CNN.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.