The plane has been sitting on the tarmac of a military air base on Hainan Island with its nose cone ripped off, propeller blades mangled and fuselage pierced after it collided with the Chinese jet on April 1. Loaded with the latest eavesdropping equipment, the spy plane was forced to make an emergency landing. The plane and its 24 crew members became the center of an 11-day standoff between the two countries, with both blaming each other for the crash. The United States made repeated demands for the crew and the plane to be returned. China's decision to grant access has been received positively by the United States, especially since it followed a blunt statement by President George W. Bush about its defense support for Taiwan and the biggest U.S. weapons offer to Taiwan in a decade.
China regards Taiwan as a renegade province.
The American team will take a good look at the plane amid concern China has studied the plane's sophisticated equipment for clues on how the United States gathers information on China. The Communist Party news outlet, the People's Daily, said the inspection had been approved following the conclusion of the Chinese investigation, but did not mention the possible return of the plane. U.S. officials say the U.S. crew managed to disable the most sensitive equipment, but some secrets may have fallen into Chinese hands. Meanwhile U.S. Ambassador Joseph Prueher said the American team was happy with progress made in arranging for the return of the plane, which U.S. officials say is too damaged to fly. They were unsure how swiftly the plane might be returned, or even how it would come back.