Portions of a US spy plane stranded on the southern Chinese island of Hainan were loaded on board a Russian-made cargo plane Monday for transport to a US base in Okinawa, a US military spokesman said.
The disassembled EP-3 spy plane will be flown to the US base in shipping containers, said Commander John Fleming, spokesman for the US Pacific Command.
"The whole operation should be finished sometime this week," he said.
The plane has been stuck on the runway at Lingshui airbase on Hainan since April 1, when it made an emergency landing following a mid-air collision with a Chinese fighter jet.
Twelve technicians from Lockheed Martin Corp., which built the EP-3, have worked since last month to dismantle the aircraft.
The pieces of the EP-3 are to be flown to Kadena Air Base before being transported to a US military base in Marietta, Georgia.
Fleming said he did not know if the aircraft would fly again.
"Many portions are so damaged that they are unusable and will be disposed of," he said. "Portions are reusable for other planes."
The 24-member crew of the US plane was held for 11 days following the collision and released only after the United States said it was "very sorry" for the loss of the Chinese pilot and for landing without permission.
(Chinadaily.com.cn 07/03/2001)
