His seaplane fit the profile of smuggling aircraft, which use clandestine landing strips and rivers to fly coca paste into neighboring Colombia and Brazil. The aggressive shoot-down policy of Peru's air force, which has downed more than two dozen suspected drug flights since 1994, is well known. The personnel on the U.S. surveillance plane could be an important source for answers because they probably saw and heard at least part of the interaction between the Peruvian pilot and the missionary pilot. Although U.S. officials would not comment on this case, they said that U.S. planes in the joint interdiction program use surveillance technology to pinpoint suspected smugglers for the Peruvian air force. The U.S. aircraft hands off this data to the Peruvian air force.
Peruvian aircraft conduct the identification and interception missions.
Acknowledging the gravity of the matter, President Bush took time out from the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City to say he planned to discuss the shoot-down with Peruvian Prime Minister Javier Perez de Cuellar. I will wait to see all the facts before I reach any conclusions about blame. Facts were scarce Saturday because Peruvian government officials and the victims had little to say. The bodies of the mother and daughter were also expected to be flown to Lima and probably on to the United States. Donaldson's wife, Bobbi, told Peruvian journalists Friday night that her husband had told her he saw a U.S. plane in the vicinity during the interception.