U.S.: AIR-STRIKES PLAN PROCEEDS DESPITE ANNAN MISSION
     The Clinton administration said Saturday it hopes U.N. Secretary
 -General Kofi Annan's last-ditch diplomatic mission to Iraq will
 succeed, but that "U.S. military preparations are proceeding without
 regard to these talks." That warning came from National Security
 Adviser Sandy Berger, who met with President Clinton and his top
 foreign policy advisers for more than 90 minutes at the White House
 Saturday afternoon.
                U.S. NAVY ENDS ANTARCTIC EXPLORATION
     Ending its 160-year exploration of Antarctica, the Navy lowered
 its flag and shut down "Operation Deep Freeze" on Friday. The Navy
 transferred its duties to monitor the continent to the U.S. Air
 National Guard at a ceremony in Christchuch, New Zealand, the oper-
 ation's headquarters. The Navy has been reducing activity in Ant-
 arctica for years. In the 40s and 50s, the Navy maintained a large
 presence on the continent, preparing U.S. forces to fight the Soviet
 Union in arctic conditions.
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            China Airlines jet reportedly flying too high
     TAIPEI, Taiwan - February 22, 1998 2:30 p.m. EST - A China Air-
 lines jet that crashed last week near Taipei airport, killing 202
 people, was flying well above the standard altitude when it
 approached the runway, the China Times Express reported Sunday.
     Radar showed that when the Airbus A300-600R was about three
 miles from the airport, the jetliner was flying at 1,300 feet, much
 higher than the standard 900-feet approach, the newspaper said.
     The pilots attempted to descend quickly to correct the mistake,
 the paper said, quoting unidentified aviation sources.
     No official reason for the plane's crash has been given, but
 investigators say the plane veered sharply to the left as it came
 in to land. It then crashed into a semi-rural area beside the runway
 and exploded, killing all aboard and six people on the ground.
     Weeping relatives offered prayers to the dead at the first of a
 series of memorial services Sunday, while laboratories rushed to
 finish identifying the victims.
     Relatives made small offerings of incense before alters amid
 chanting at Buddhist and Taoist memorial services held at the morgue
 in the Taipei suburb of Panchiao and in southern city of Kaohsiung.
     About a week after the crash, only 32 of the victims have been
 identified by DNA comparisons demanded by police before any bodies
 can be released, newspapers reported.
     Most bodies were badly charred and dismembered, making identi-
 fication possible only by comparison of DNA samples or dental
 records.
 --------------------------------------------------------------------
    Suspicions about airliner disappearance linger 31 years later
     JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- Feb 22, 1998 6:42 p.m.EST -- One
 night in 1967, a South African Airways flight with 25 people aboard
 banked over the ocean on final approach to a coastal town. It never
 made it. Search teams were dispatched. An official report said the
 plane and bodies had disappeared after crashing into the ocean.
     More than 30 years later, a member of the search team has told
 the newspaper Die Burger that he saw the fuselage of the Vickers
 Viscount plane on the ocean floor, with bodies inside.  Another
 searcher who left early says colleagues told him they had found the
 wreckage.
     Both said they were ordered not to discuss anything they
 witnessed.
     Some relatives of passengers suspect the apartheid government of
 the time covered up the investigation. They have asked Transporta-
 tion Minister Mac Maharaj to reopen it. Maharaj has referred the
 matter to the director of Civil Aviation. A decision is pending.
               Suspicions of sabotage also linger.
     After Flight 406 disappeared approaching East London along the
 Indian Ocean, the defense ministry prohibited unauthorized planes
 and boats from venturing near the area.
     Many relatives were summoned to identify recovered bodies, then
 were told bodies had not been found.
     Malcolm Viviers, then a diver on a navy minesweeper, said in a
 telephone interview that the wreckage was found.
     "We actually maneuvered the ship right over the wreck," said
 Viviers, confirming statements made earlier to Die Burger.
     Viviers said he wasn't qualified to dive to the depth - 350 feet
 - so he watched a video monitor on deck as specialized divers went
 down.
     "You could actually see the plane, the fuselage, even the bodies
 that were still strapped inside," Viviers said. "The wings were bro-
 ken off and the nose cone and tail were gone."
     "We were told by the captain of the ship not to talk about it...
 and of course, being in the navy you listen to your commander."
     "Their viewpoint was that they would leave the plane down there,"
 Viviers said. "I didn't question their decision."
     Searcher Paul du Plessis said he saw a woman's body in the ocean
 but couldn't retrieve it because of rough water.
     "After I left the site, I was told on the phone the wreckage was
 found," he said. "It suddenly became very hush-hush."
     The airline's own investigator, Capt. Jimmy Boyd, was found dead
 in a hotel room after finishing his preliminary investigation. His
 death was ruled a heart attack. The airline says its files on the
 crash have disappeared.
 Continued in NEWS-056
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