Pilot OK after U.S. warplane crashes in Gulf
     MANAMA, Bahrain - April 27, 1998 2:37 p.m. EDT - A U.S Navy war-
 plane crashed in the Gulf Monday, but its pilot was recovered unhurt
 after ejecting, the Navy said.
     "The pilot of an F/A-18C Hornet was safely recovered today
 (Monday) after he ejected from his aircraft before it crashed in
 international waters of the North Arabian Gulf," a statement from
 the Navy's Fifth Fleet Central Command in Bahrain said.
     It said the plane, assigned to a strike fighter squadron operat-
 ing aboard the aircraft carrier Independence went down just after
 4 p.m. local time as it was returning to the ship.
     A helicopter from the Independence recovered the pilot, who was
 not identified. The cause of the accident was under investigation,
 the Navy said.
     In early February, a U.S. Navy pilot was killed when his F/A-18
 aircraft collided another F/A-18 jet in mid-air and crashed in the
 Gulf. The pilot of the other plane survived.
     The U.S. Fifth Fleet, with two aircraft carriers, two cruisers
 and other warships, is based in the region and helps enforce Opera-
 tion Southern Watch, which monitors a no-fly zone over southern
 Iraq.
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                 Man and his Moth set out for London
     PERTH, Australia -- Barry Markham is planning to fly over 14
 countries on a 44-day trip from Australia to London aboard a lov-
 ingly restored World War I-era fighter biplane. (Trainer? Jim)
     Markham and his tiny Tiger Moth, named "Margery," took off from
 Perth late Sunday. Markham is attempting to re-create a flight by
 aviator Jimmy Woods, who flew from Australia to England in 1933 in
 a Gypsy Moth.
     The trip is raising money for the Royal Flying Doctor Service,
 an aerial ambulance and hospital organization that serves rural
 Australia.
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                 Detonator found on passenger jet
     BRITISH Airways security managers were last night investigating
 the discovery of a detonator on an aircraft that was about to be
 boarded by 179 passengers.
     The device was found on a Boeing 767, which had been parked over-
 night at Nice airport before its scheduled return to Heathrow. BA's
 local security contractors made the discovery during a routine early
 morning search.
     It is not yet known whether the detonator, which was not attached
 to any explosive, had been left on the plane by an incoming passenger,
 or put there by an airport intruder. Reports that a live grenade had
 been discovered were denied.
     All passengers were subjected to stringent body searches and lug-
 gage was X-rayed again. The extra security measures led to take-off
 being delayed by three hours. A BA spokesman said: "The fact that
 this item was found is testimony to the robustness of our security
 procedures. The device was inert, so there was never any danger to
 customers, staff or the aircraft. We introduced the additional checks
 as a precaution."
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          Air France to resume carrying expellees to Mali
     PARIS, April 27 17:32 SAT - The French Interior Ministry said on
 Monday the national airline Air France SA would immediately resume
 carrying illegal immigrants expelled from France back to the West
 African state of Mali.
     An Interior Ministry spokesman told Reuters on Monday a new
 accord with Air France was reached whereby expelled immigrants
 would again be flown to Mali, but only one per plane.
     Air France said last week it would no longer carry expellees to
 Mali after a string of incidents in which regular passengers or
 human rights activists disrupted flights and blocked departures in
 protest at the expulsions.
     An airline spokeswoman also said last week that Air France would
 limit to one per flight the number of illegal immigrants carried to
 other destinations, and then only if they were accompanied by an
 official.
     Mali, a landlocked, poverty-stricken former French colony, is a
 prime source of immigration to France.
     Air France declined immediate comment on the Interior Ministry's
 statement on Monday, reflecting open differences between the airline
 and the government over the issue.
     The airline believes its involvement in expulsions harms its
 image. The government has always overridden such objections on the
 grounds Air France is a state airline which enjoys a protected
 status and has many profitable government contracts.
     A police official told a French Senate committee last week the
 West African airline Air Afrique was taking the same stance as Air
 France and authorities would now expel illegal immigrants to Mali
 aboard the Belgian airline Sabena.
     Interior Minister Jean-Pierre Chevenement earlier this month
 accused extreme leftists, including Britons, of mounting a campaign
 to prevent France from sending illegal immigrants home to Africa.
     The Socialist-led government, which took power in France last
 year, decided to end the policy of previous centre-right governments
 of chartering planes for expulsions of several dozen people at a
 time.
     A major brawl broke out when one such flight landed in the Mali
 capital Bamako last year. Expellees turned on guards when the plane
 landed, wounding several and seriously damaging the aircraft.
     The new government said it wanted to carry out a humane policy
 but extreme leftists and some human rights groups oppose expulsions
 altogether.
--- DB 1.39/004487
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