Skip to main content /WORLD
CNN.com /WORLD
CNN TV
EDITIONS

China may be stripping spy plane, says U.S.

image
Seven vehicles line up next to the U.S. plane in Hainan in this recent satellite image from SpaceImaging.com  

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. officials say there is evidence Chinese authorities may be stripping a sophisticated U.S. spy plane stranded on China's Hainan Island.

Pentagon officials on Monday pointed to a new satellite photograph of the U.S. Navy EP-3E Aries II plane that shows a line-up of trucks alongside the aircraft.

The plane and its crew have been detained since making an emergency landing on Hainan Island following a collision with a Chinese fight jet eight days ago.

After the collision the plane limped about 100km to Lingshui military air base, and during the 15-minute flight U.S. officials have said its crew attempted to destroy all classified eavesdropping equipment.

 IN-DEPTH
graphic U.S.-China Collision: A diplomatic solution
 • About freighter returning EP-3
 • Look: Inside the EP-3
 • Facts about the EP-3
 • Map: Locating the incident
 • Big picture: High stakes
 • Classroom discussion guide
 • Historical US-China timeline
 • Whidbey arrival images
 • Crew speaks out
 • Crew's return images


 
 BIG PICTURE
High stakes in standoff
 

Sophisticated eavesdropper

On board the spy plane were sophisticated eavesdropping devices, sensors, receivers and dish antennas to track radar as well as voice and satellite communications.

Experts say the plane's most sensitive equipment is software and encryption devices used for unscrambling military codes.

An aerial photo, taken by a U.S. commercial satellite company Monday morning China time, shows seven trucks parked next the crippled U.S. EP-3 surveillance plane at Lingshui airstrip, according to Pentagon officials who were shown the photo by CNN.

Some in the Pentagon say the photograph backs the U.S. claim that the Chinese are removing sensitive hi-tech equipment from the aircraft.

Last week Pentagon sources said that U.S. intelligence reports indicated the Chinese were stripping the plane of equipment, something the Chinese have refused to confirm or deny.

The one-meter-resolution, color satellite image was collected at 9:58 a.m. local time on April 9, 2001 (10:58 p.m. EDT on April 8, 2001) by Space Imaging's IKONOS satellite.



RELATED STORIES:
Pentagon official: U.S. plane on autopilot at time of collision
April 9, 2001
Chinese pilot's wife sends Bush emotional letter
April 6, 2001
Vietnam faults U.S. in plane standoff
April 6, 2001
Jiang seems unfazed on second day in Latin America
April 6, 2001
China gains leverage in U.S. spy plane incident
April 6, 2001
Fighter pilots classed as 'aggressive'
April 5, 2001

RELATED SITES:
The Pentagon
U.S. Navy
China's embassy in the U.S.
Government Information Office, Republic of China
U.S. Navy Fact File: EP-3E ORION (ARIES II) Aircraft

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.



 Search   




MARKETS
4:30pm ET, 4/16
144.70
8257.60
3.71
1394.72
10.90
879.91
 













Back to the top