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CIA blames own mistakes for missionary plane shootdown
The CIA blamed violations of agency drug interdiction protocols for the tragic 2001 shootdown of a missionary plane in Peru, as it released the findings Monday of an internal investigation.
A Central Intelligence Agency report said that officials at the US spy agency first denied responsibility for erroneous downing of a small plane used by a church group to carry a young US family from Brazil into Peru.
Within hours of the event, "CIA officers began to characterize the shootdown as a one-time mistake in an otherwise well run program. In fact, this was not the case," the US spy agency report said.
The CIA added that procedural mistakes were not unique to the missionary plane mishap, but were a repeated occurrence.
"Violations of procedures required under the Airbridge Denial Program (ABDP) to intercept and shoot down drug trafficking aircraft occurred in all 15 shootdowns in which CIA participated," the report said.
"CIA officers knew of and condoned most of these violations, fostering an environment of negligence and disregard for procedures designed to protect against the loss of innocent life that culminated in the downing of the missionary plane," added the report.
"This was a tragic event that occurred in 2001 and for nearly 10 years was reviewed by the Department of Justice, the Department of State, (and) the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence," said CIA Director Leon Panetta said.
The ABDP program to halt the airlifting of drugs started in 1995 under then-president Bill Clinton.
The program was halted in April 2001 following the erroneous shootdown of the small aircraft by the Peruvian airforce, killing a US missionary and her infant son and seriously injuring the American pilot.
The investigation, completed in 2008 but released for the first time Monday, resulted in administrative penalties for 16 CIA agents, some of them retired.
The report also showed that in 15 shootdowns, there were mistakes included failure to properly identify the targets as a drug trafficking plane, failing to maintain the proper chain of command, and a failure to fire warning shots prior to taking final action.
Panetta said agency officials, including its board, had put new protocols in place to avoid a repeat of the tragic errors.
"We have made changes recommended by the board and others and are now moving forward -- focused, as always, on conducting strong, effective intelligence operations to keep America safe," Panetta said.
