WASHINGTON, D.C. : Brown Didn’t Sway Pilots, Perry Says

As Pentagon officials wrap up their investigation into the plane crash that killed Commerce Secretary Ronald H. Brown and 34 others in Croatia, Defense Secretary William J. Perry said there is no evidence Brown pressured Air Force pilots to fly through a rainstorm to their destination that day. He was replying to a question about assertions by a Brown friend who said he called her shortly before the flight. The New York Times quoted the friend, Nolanda Hill, as saying Brown told her he overruled Air Force pilots and his own staff by insisting they fly from the Bosnian town of Tuzla to Dubrovnik despite the storm.