U.S. Restricts Copter Flights Near N. Korea

The Pentagon has temporarily restricted flights of U.S. helicopters near the North Korean border and is considering new steps to warn American pilots when they are straying too close, the Defense Department said Monday.

The restrictions, ordered by Army Gen. Gary E. Luck, commander of U.S. forces in South Korea, are expected to be maintained until completion of an investigation into the downing of an American helicopter in North Korea late last week.

U.S. strategists said that the measures, outlined by a senior Pentagon official, will not prohibit U.S. pilots from continuing to fly patrols near the border with North Korea, as American aircraft have been doing since the Korean War in the early 1950s.

The official reiterated that the Pentagon still does not know whether the aircraft was shot down by North Korean forces or was forced down because of mechanical trouble. But he said all signs continue to suggest that the pilot ventured accidentally into North Korean airspace.

The announcement came as senior U.S. military officials made public a detailed chronology of the helicopter’s path on the day it was downed and discussed the kind of training provided to the pilots. But the official declined to speculate on why the aircraft went down.

The OH-58 Kiowa Warrior observation helicopter was being used to train the pilot of a newly arrived Apache helicopter battalion on how to navigate inside a restricted-flying zone that runs about 22 1/2 miles south of the North Korean border.

Pentagon officials said that, under new procedures, the battalion will be prohibited from flying in the zone, all flights along the area’s boundary will require personal approval by the battalion commander and pilots will be given refresher training.

The investigation of the incident includes reviewing procedures for flights near the border and revamping the procedures for warning pilots when they are flying too close. The military also is considering whether to upgrade navigational aids in the Kiowa.

Currently, the OH-58 Kiowa Warrior and most other helicopters are equipped only with compasses, not with receivers for the military’s new Global Positioning System, a satellite tracking network that can tell a pilot precisely where the aircraft is.

A senior military official said Monday that the Pentagon is considering upgrading the navigational equipment carried by helicopters to include the Global Positioning System, as well as revamping the procedures for transmitting warnings from ground observers.

Pentagon officials gave this chronology for the incident:

* The helicopter left its base at Camp Page, near the restricted area, at 10:02 a.m. Saturday and flew east and north toward the demilitarized zone. At 10:20 a.m., the pilots changed radio frequency to make contact with a South Korean flight-control station.

* At 10:26 a.m., the control station lost radar contact with the helicopter--not unusual in such circumstances. The South Koreans picked the helicopter up again briefly, between 10:36 a.m. and 10:37 a.m., but lost it again.

* At 10:38 a.m., the helicopter was sighted flying north by a South Korean military observer and was seen later by a South Korean guard as it was crossing the North Korean border. Neither was able to warn the pilot, however, because the guards had no radios.

* At 10:43 a.m., the helicopter crew reported that it was at “Checkpoint 84,” in South Korea, but was actually about 11.4 miles north, in North Korean territory. At 10:48 a.m., the craft was down.