‘Multiple Errors’ Cited in Iraq Copter Tragedy : Mideast: Pentagon report details mistakes made in ‘friendly fire’ incident. Discipline of those involved is expected.

The mistaken destruction of two U.S. Army helicopters by a pair of American F-15C jet fighters over Iraq in April resulted from “multiple errors” by the pilots, air controllers and their unit commanders, a Pentagon investigation shows.

The report points out that, while air controllers on a nearby U.S. AWACS radar surveillance plane knew that the two helicopters were American, they failed to tell others aboard who were overseeing the F-15Cs--a step that almost certainly would have prevented the tragedy.

At the same time, the F-15C pilots themselves did not fly close enough to identify the helicopters properly--missing the large U.S. flags that were painted on their fuel tanks and misidentifying the two choppers as Soviet-built Iraqi Hinds.

The Pentagon report, now being reviewed by Defense Secretary William J. Perry, is expected to lead to the disciplining of several of those involved. The incident killed 26 people: 15 Americans; six British, French and Turkish officers, and five Kurdish leaders.

The tragedy occurred inside the restricted “no fly” zone over northern Iraq, set up by the allies three years ago to help protect Kurds from Iraqi harassment.

Those traveling in the two U.S. helicopters were on a tour of Kurdish villages.

The Pentagon declined comment on the report’s conclusions, portions of which were reported in Friday’s New York Times and in the June 17 Los Angeles Times.

Officials said that Perry probably will decide the issue next week, then brief next of kin of those killed.

In Seattle, where he delivered a speech Friday, Perry told reporters that the Pentagon plans to take further steps to prevent future “friendly fire” incidents.

“It was very clear there were errors made,” he said. “There will certainly be corrective action.”

Under rules of engagement, allied warplanes are authorized to shoot down any aircraft flying inside the “no fly” zone that they identify as unauthorized to be there. They are also allowed to bomb Iraqi radar units that they determine are targeting allied aircraft.

Sources familiar with the report said that the investigation cited these discrepancies as contributing to the tragedy:

* The transponders carried by the two helicopters to identify them as American were not programmed to transmit the proper coded signal, leading the F-15C pilots to believe that they were Soviet-built Iraqi Hinds, whose appearance is similar.

* Contrary to usual procedures, the pilots of the two F-15Cs were not warned in advance that the U.S. helicopters were to be in the region. Instead, sources said, they were told that no “friendly” aircraft were scheduled to enter the “no fly” zone.

* While the F-15C pilots were routinely trained to recognize Iraqi aircraft at a glance, they had not been drilled on the shapes and characteristics of U.S. helicopters and mistook the U.S. pair--both Army UH-60 Blackhawks--for Iraqi aircraft.

* The rules of engagement under which U.S. pilots were permitted to fire on suspected enemy aircraft in the northern “no fly” zone were not as rigorous as those in a similar “no fly” zone in southern Iraq--making the system more vulnerable to errors, some critics said.

Perry has taken steps to restrict the authority of U.S. fighter pilots to fire on aircraft in the northern zone.

He now must decide, as well, whether to discipline some of those involved, either by relieving them of duties or by subjecting them to courts-martial.

The United States narrowly escaped a similar tragedy last spring after Navy pilots in the southern Iraq “no fly” zone were given permission to fire on an unidentified plane but decided against it after their own observations did not track with AWACS information. The aircraft later turned out to be a Sudanese airliner.

The April 14 tragedy came as a major jolt to the military, which has become particularly sensitive to “friendly fire” accidents in which Americans are inadvertently killed by fire from U.S. troops. It occurred in daylight with good visibility.

Officials confirmed that one of the F-15C pilots is Lt. Col. Randy May, who downed an Iraqi helicopter apparently carrying supplies to the front lines during the 1991 Gulf War.

Much of the report’s contents amounted to confirmation of initial conclusions drawn by investigators on the day of the shooting.