Bodies of Leland, 15 Others Recovered From Crash Site

Ethiopian and American workers on Tuesday retrieved from a remote mountainside in western Ethiopia the bodies of 16 people killed last week in a plane crash, among them Rep. Mickey Leland (D-Tex.).

Officials of the two countries said the recovery operation had been completed. The bodies were flown from an area near the crash site to Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, where the complex task of identifying the victims is to begin today. Authorities said the process is expected to take five to seven days.

The Leland plane, a De Havilland Twin Otter, crashed Aug. 7 in rain and heavy fog en route from Addis Ababa to Fugnido, near the Sudanese border, a trip of about 290 miles. Fugnido is the site of a camp for Sudanese refugees that Leland and his party had planned to visit.

Wreckage of the plane was found Sunday after a six-day search plagued by bad weather.

As the bodies were being collected at the crash site Tuesday, American and Canadian investigators arrived here to assist the Ethiopian authorities with their investigation into the cause of the crash. They represent the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board, Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, Boeing-De Havilland and the Canadian Air Safety Board.

Boeing-De Havilland, a Canadian firm, manufactured the plane, and Pratt & Whitney its engines. Investigators will be trying to determine whether mechanical or engine failure was a factor in the accident.

“They’re here because the U.S. offered cooperation in the investigative effort to the Ethiopian government, and the government accepted,” said U.S. Marine Col. David Titus, a spokesman for the American recovery operation.

Removed by Helicopter

Officials had expected the recovery operation to take several days because of poor weather, but conditions at the crash site improved Tuesday.

Technicians reached the wreckage by means of 250-foot lines sent down from two American helicopters. They carefully searched the area, struggling for traction on the nearly vertical cliff. The bodies were taken by helicopter to Gambela, about 20 miles away, then put aboard fixed-wing aircraft for the flight to Addis Ababa, 210 miles from the crash site.

Physical evidence, including pieces of wreckage and personal effects, were left at the scene for the crash investigators.

At the airport at Addis Ababa, the bodies were moved to a modified field hospital where the identification process was to be carried out.

The U.S. Air Force personnel brought in to take part in the search and recovery, almost 300 in all, are to begin flying out today en route to their bases in Europe and the United States.

OTHER CRASH VICTIMS

Other victims of the crash that killed Rep. Mickey Leland (D-Tex.) included aides, friends and officials of the U.S. Agency for International Development. The State Department identified them as: Debebe Agonofer--Ethiopian citizen, AID economist. Gladys Gilbert--AID special projects officer. Hugh Anderson Johnson Jr.--member of Leland’s staff. Patrice Yvonne Johnson (no relation to Hugh)--member of Leland’s staff. Y. Ivan Tillen--New York City investment banker, lawyer, publisher, friend of Leland. Joyce Francine Williams--aide to Rep. Ronald V. Dellums (D-Berkeley). Robert Woods--embassy political economics officer. Thomas Worrick--acting AID representative in Ethiopia. Roberta Worrick--Worrick’s wife.

Three Ethiopian officials and the three-member Ethiopian flight crew were also killed.

SOURCE: Associated Press