U.S. Dept. of State - IIP: The United States and China

Text: Senator Daschle Praises EP-3 Captain and Crew
(Senate Democratic leader's speech)

Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (Democrat of South Dakota) in an April 24 speech praised the captain and crew of the Navy reconnaissance aircraft that survived a mid-air collision with a Chinese jet fighter April 1.

The Democratic leader in the Senate praised Lt. Shane Osborn, who managed to bring his aircraft and his 23 crew members to safety by landing on China's Hainan Island after the accident.

"For the next 11 days, Lt. Osborn's leadership, courage, dignity, and his remarkable sense of humor, helped keep the spirits of his crew high," Daschle said.

"We are fortunate to be protected and represented by the entire crew of that Navy EP-3," said Daschle, the chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee.

COMMENDING NAVY LT. SHANE OSBORN
AND HIS CREW MEMBERS
FOLLOWING THEIR DETAINMENT
ON HAINAN ISLAND, CHINA
Senate
April 24, 2001

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I come to the floor to commend in the strongest possible terms the members of the United States Navy crew who were detained on Hainan Island in China for 11 long days earlier this month. I think I speak for our entire nation when I say how much we admire their dedication and the extraordinary level of professionalism they exhibited throughout their ordeal.

Under the command of Lt. Shane Osborn, this crew of 24 servicemen and women left Kadena Airbase in Okinawa, Japan, on the evening of March 31 for what was to have been a routine mission over the South China Sea.

As we all now know, what happened after they left Okinawa, and for the next 11 days, was not routine. It was heroic. The entire world witnessed the strength, discipline and courage of our Navy crew.

I am especially impressed with the skill and character of a remarkable young man who first dreamed of flying as a 3-year-old watching a small Cessna on a South Dakota farm.

We are fortunate that Lt. Shane Osborn pursued his dream to fly. And we are doubly fortunate that he put that dream to work in service of his country.

Lt. Osborn says, modestly, that he was just what he'd been trained to do when he landed his damaged aircraft safely. Others see it differently. A Pentagon spokesman described the landing as a ``spectacular feat of airmanship.'' Experienced EP-3 pilots termed it astounding. Indeed, it was.

Think about what had just happened: The collision with a smaller, faster Chinese F-8 had dropped Lt. Osborn's EP-3 between 5,000 and 8,000 feet and turned it almost completely upside-down; two of the plane's four propellers had been clipped in the collision, rendering useless the wing flaps used to slow the plane during landing.

And most of the plane's instruments were so badly damaged that they were useless.

Even so, Lt. Osborn managed to stabilize the plane, and he and his crew were able to guide it to the nearest airport, 70 miles northwest, on China's Hainan Island.

Remarkably, during that 70-mile flight, Lt. Osborn and his crew had the presence of mind to follow international procedure and issue a series of distress signals. In fact, they issued as many as 25 signals on two separate standard frequencies.

Lt. Osborn's crew and commanders say his courage and quick thinking saved 24 lives.

After landing in Hainan, with their plane surrounded by armed Chinese personnel, Lt. Osborn and his crew followed U.S. Navy procedure. They destroyed sensitive documents and technology, greatly limiting what could have been a significant intelligence loss.

For the next 11 days, Lt. Osborn's leadership, courage, dignity, and his remarkable sense of humor, helped keep the spirits of his crew high.

We are fortunate to be protected and represented by the entire crew of that Navy EP-3: Richard Bensing; Steven Blocher; Bradford Borland; David Cecka; John Comerford; Shawn Coursen; Jeremy Crandall; Josef Edmunds; Brandon Funk; Scott Guidry; Jason Hanser; Patrick Honeck; Regina Kauffman; Nicholas Mellos; Ramon Mercado; Richard Payne; Mitchell Pray; Kenneth Richter; Marcia Sonon; Curtis Towne; Jeffrey Vignery; Wendy Westbrook, and Rodney Young.

As a South Dakotan, I must say I am especially proud of Lt. Shane Osborn, who followed his dream from Mitchell, SD, to the Norfolk, Nebraska Civil Air Patrol, and now, into the pages of Naval history. He is a true hero, and we are proud of him.

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)