The World : Cruise Missile Off Target

An unarmed U.S. cruise missile launched from a B-52 bomber made a 1,500-mile test flight over northwestern Canada, but it landed five minutes earlier than planned, falling into a woods 10 miles off target, Canadian military officials said. They said it was not known whether the missile’s parachute had opened. The test, one of several permitted under a U.S.-Canadian defense pact, was held to evaluate the missile’s ability to hug terrain similar to parts of the Soviet Union. Four protesters from the Greenpeace environmental group were arrested at the Canadian Forces base at Cold Lake, Alberta, near where the missile landed.