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US Technicians Begin Preparing Navy Spy Plane for Return
The Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co recovery team prepares to drain fuel, oil and hydraulic fluids from the damaged US Navy EP-3 surveillance plane at Lingshui Airfield on Hainan Island June 19, 2001.
US workers have begun preparing the stranded US Navy spy plane for its return from China, and if everything goes according to plan, it could back on U.S. soil by July 11.
Over the weekend, a Lockheed-Martin "recovery team" arrived in China's southern Hainan Island and established a work schedule for the upcoming weeks.
They plan to dismantle the EP-3E Aries II spy plane and load it in pieces on two huge Russian-made Antonov 124 cargo planes.
The two countries, once bitter with each other over the April 1 collision incident over the South China Sea, finally agreed to transport the plane off the island using a pair of Russian charter planes after China refused to let American technicians repair the plane or let an American military aircraft land on Hainan Island.
The first Antonov arrived at Hainan island's Lingshui airbase on June 16, and will bring the EP-3E's offloaded fuel, hydraulic fluid and oil to Kadena air base in Okinawa.
After the team of U.S. technicians arrived on Sunday, it moved the EP-3E to a specially prepared work site on the Lingshui airfield. The team is expected to number around 40 people when it is at full strength.
The technicians spent Monday and Tuesday draining the plane of fluids, and then began building shipping crates and and disassembling the airframe.
According to the work schedule, they will finish by July 4. By that time, they will have removed the plane's surface antennas, engines, landing gear and wings.
The parts will then be loaded onto the Antonov and returned to Okinawa.
On July 7, the aircraft fuselage will be loaded on to the Antonov after it returns from Kadena. On July 9, a second Antonov will arrive to transport everything else.
Finally, on July 11, the Russian planes are expected to depart with the plane and all workers.
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