2 Soviet Copter Crews Grilled as Spy Suspects
American and West German officials detained and questioned crews of two Soviet civilian helicopters suspected of spying on an important U.S. air base in West Germany, officials said today.
The two helicopters were making their way back to Eastern Europe from the recent Paris Air Show.
News reports said at least one of the copters flew low--under radar--and monitored air traffic at Bitburg Air Base near the Luxembourg border.
An Air Force spokesman at the giant U.S. Rhein-Main Air Base at Frankfurt said the two crews of the Soviet copters were detained Monday after the aircraft landed at Frankfurt Airport to refuel.
Questioned at Airport
The spokesman said the Soviet crewmen were questioned at the airport, which is next to the sprawling Rhein-Main base.
The two helicopters were later permitted to continue their flight to Prague and Warsaw.
The Air Force spokesman for the U.S. Information Service refused to give details of the incident.
Government sources in Bonn and the respected Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper confirmed the incident and said officials suspected but could not prove espionage.
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