European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 9, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 28 the stars and stripes saturday july 9,1988 agreement reached on defense Bill year. The orders the Pentagon to in $900 million from the $3.9 billion this year. Other highlights of the Bill pay raises the nation s 2.1 Mil marines As new missile firing boats reintroduced into the Fleet. That continues the policy of generally keeping the United states near weapons limits imposed by the a ratified Salt ii nuclear treaty lion uniformed military personnel will a pact Reagan says he won t  a 4.1 percent pay increase. Nuclear weapons the measure Washington a congressional negotiators agreed thursday on a defense budget Bill that increases the prove and expand its role in providing Pentagon s role in the anti drug War but anti drug intelligence to civilian Law in scuttles earlier plans to give the Navy for Cement agencies Power to arrest drug dealers in internal by Fra measure sharply Scales Back Tiona Waters plans approved separately and overwhelm w1,uv1vm., the $300 billion plan also sharply in Gay to the House and Senate that would proposes $250 million each for the sin Scales Back president Reagan s Star wars Nave been More far reaching. The House Gie warhead midget Man and the Railroad anti missile plan but includes Money to voted to order Reagan to have the military version of the my a pair of land base buy thousands of missiles planes tanks essentially Seal the Borders against illegal nuclear missiles. Reagan wanted Only and other weapons. Drug traffickers while the Senate voted to $200 million for the midget Man which the Bill which authorizes Pentagon give the Navy arrest Powers for drug boats a strongly backed by democrats who spending for the fiscal year beginning stopped on the High seas. Control both Chambers and $793 million oct. 1, must now be passed separately by both Chambers Are expected to consid for the my. The Bill contains another 4 Mem my my. .,._, the House and Senate before going to the or anti drug Bills this summer. $250 million that the Secretary of de 24 av-8 harrier jets four of the new White House for Reagan s signature. The Pentagon spending Bill authorizes sense in the new administration next Long Range c-17 cargo planes 669 my the Bill authorizes the Pentagon to $4 0 billion for the strategic defense Ini Vear can spend for either program tanks 581 Bradley fighting vehicles for spend $299.5 billion. Tia Tive As Reagan s 5-year-old Star wars arms control the measure re the army 1,310 Standard missiles and the total is a slight reduction from the plan is formally known. Reagan had quires withdrawal and retirement of 72 Apache attack helicopters for the $301 billion authorized in the current sought $4.8 billion for the program up three aging missile firing Poseidon sub army. Navy ships the Bill include for one More Trident missile fir ing submarine a pair of los Angeles class attack subs the first of the new sea Wolf class attack subs three destroyers and an amphibious assault ship. Other weapons the measure pro Vides Money for 180 f-16 Jet fighters 36 f-15 fighters a dozen f-14 jets for the Navy 84 Fa-18 jets for Navy carriers Rig from Page 1 covered water cold enough to kill. It was a Case of Fry and die or jump and try said Roy Carey 45, who jumped. Rescue pilots described flames up to400 feet High. The fire still flickered nearly 24 hours  minister Margaret Thatcher s government promised a very very deep and far reaching  questions arose about safety standards in the High risk Industry and opposition politicians claimed safety was  Petroleum said it believed a Gas leak was to blame but Days or weeks would be needed to determine what caused and ignited it. Occidental said the three quarters of the 649-foot High Rig was  Ellington a 45-year-old rigger said he was in a workshop near the control enter when he heard the scream of two Gas leaks almost simultaneously and about 30seconds later there was the first explosion. It wiped out the control room and that was it. Our nerve Center was  Sneddon a University lecturer on offshore engineering in Aberdeen said we can Only assume there was Aleak of some sort. Basically you Are sit Ting on top of two highly flammable products Oil and Gas. A leak or a spill is a potential Hazard. It is extremely difficult to say what could have set it  the number of men still missing and the dim prospects for finding them alive see certain to make the Piper Alpha explosion the worst Oil Rig disaster surpassing the 123 deaths when the Alexander l. Kielland platform capsized in Norway s North sea Waters in March 1980. Police said the overwhelming majority of those on the Piper Alpha were scottish but the Domestic British news Agency press association said workers from the unite states Canada Continental Europe and South Africa also were aboard. Authorities said no list of dead would be released until families were notified. Six nato warships led by the  Hayler diverted from Maneu vers to join a multinational flotilla of Rescue vessels. Helicopters criss crossed the smoke filled skies. Armand Hammer chairman of Occi dental said he would leave immediately for Aberdeen to oversee the care of injured workers and families of the miss ing said spokesman Roger Gillot at the company s los Angeles Headquarters. Survivors were taken to Aberdeen Royal infirmary and officials said 20were hospitalized most with Burns. Dis traught families clustered outside waiting for news of loved ones. A government official insisted safety standards were strict including we Klong government inspections annually. He said the Piper Alpha inspection took place two weeks ago. John Prescott of the opposition Labo party claimed in parliament that Rig inspection and maintenance had been reduced in recent years too Little Money was spent on training and health an safety legislation did not apply fully to the North sea Oil and Gas Industry. In reply a government official said serious North sea accidents had fallen from 101 in 1986 to 59 last year. Headed that is too High a figure and we wish to keep the pressure on to ensure Piper Alpha Oil platform 229 men aboard Ragin Gilarno alter explosion. Kinloss Inverness Aberdeen ships and helicopter search for survivors. Survivors picked up and taken to Aberdeen. Dundee a map f-14s that improvement is  Bob Cryer of labor said an explosion on the Piper Alpha four years ago slightly injured four men and claimed the investigators report was kept secret. Investigators said the report was not published because they found no negligence and did not recommend prosecutions. The disaster wednesday night began at about 9.30 p.m., just after a 12-hour shift had ended and Many of the men were in bed. I was just going to bed and there Wasa bang said Dave Lambert 38. They came in and said there was a fire and Roget out. The sprinklers were on. We could see them but there was t sufficient volume to put Down the  rigger Tony Sinnett watching from a Supply vessel told the Aberdeen evening express it was like the platform had been hit by an atomic bomb. There was massive mushrooms and flames shooting into the air. I just thanked god i was t on  Airliner from Page 1 compelling reason was an electronic emission from the Airbus a transmission that Howard on tuesday identified As identification signals broadcast on a fre Quency used Only by military aircraft. The signal sent by the Airbus was similar to codes that had been Broad cast within the previous several Day by iranian f-14 fighters recently stationed at Bandar Abbas Howard said. Iran air flight 455 was 4 a mile from the Center of a civilian air Corri Dor stretching from its departure Point Bandar Abbas to Dubai across the persian Gulf. According to the code g9verning International air flights said Howard commercial airliners those carrying passengers Are expected to adhere tothe Center line of the  but he said it was unclear How wide the air corridor was at the Point where the Airbus was hit because Iran claims corridor 10 Miles on each Side and Many other countries including the United Arab emirates recognize a Cor Ridor 4 a Miles from the Center. The aircraft was at least 4 /2 Miles off the Center line of the Airway and i that regard could be considered to be off the Normal track of commercial air Craft Howard said. The chairman of the House armed services committee rep. Les Aspin d-wis., said Pentagon officials told him tuesday that the plane had wan dered to the Edge of the corridor the tried to right itself heading straight at the Vincennes. The Vincennes was slightly to the East of the Center of the Airway Aspin said but could not say precisely How far. On another matter Howard said that tapes recording events aboard the Vincennes had been flown from the Gulf to the . Naval surface warfare facility at Dahlgren  of the tapes which contain encrypted data will be turned Over to rear adm. William m. Fogarty ? who Isnow in the Gulf conducting an investigation into the incident Howard  seeking to dispel Aspin s speculation on the possibility that an Irania warplane might have been using the Airbus As cover to confuse the Vin Cennes Howard said unless those two aircraft manage to take off in tandem and stay about eight feet apart throughout the course of this flight and managed to get shot out of the air together and fall together then there were not two aircraft. There s no phantom aircraft  Aegis radar and tracking system aboard the Vincennes sends out a signal shaped like a three-dimensi9nal pie slice that would have been 3 Miles High an wide and 1 mile deep at the Point when the Airbus was nine Miles away the Point at which the Vincennes fired. From Page 1 disturbing to saudi military forces. As the iranian planes continued on their Way the planes crossed a line of Demar cation in the persian Gulf drawn by the saudis who scrambled four f-15 fighters that locked their radar on the approach ing planes so that they could fire missile sat them according to a knowledgeable source in the Region. American officials said that the Irani an aircraft then turned Back. This was the first time since 1984 that iranian planes had ventured so close to saudi Arabia the officials said. Providing new details about How the incident involving the Vincennes began the next Day american officials said that tensions grew when a patrol helicopter from the Vincennes came upon Irania gunboats that were attacking a norwegian ship. The iranian gunboats fired on the helicopter and the Vincennes later responded by firing on the iranian boats destroying two and damaging a third. In recent weeks Iran has moved som of its f-14 jets to coastal bases and has used them for the first time in years to Ward off attacks by iraqi aircraft on Ira Nian shipping. In recent Days iranian f-14s have Bee detected emitting coded identification Sig nals of the kind received by the Vincennes before it downed the iranian plane. Shell explosion kills 2 marines up Hakula Hawaii a eight marines remained in a Hospital thurs Day with injuries received in a mortar Shell explosion that killed two others a Marine spokesman said. All eight were in stable condition with shrapnel wounds said maj. Kerry , the Public affairs officer at the Kaneohe Marine corps air station on the Island of Oahu. Seven others who were injured in the wednesday night Accident were released after treatment he said. The names of the dead and injured were withheld pending notification of families. The injuries occurred when mortar rounds accidentally landed and explode among a platoon of about 30 marines during exercises at the Pohak Uloa train ing area Gershaneck said. Pohak Uloa is an isolated military training ground located at the 7,000-foot Elevation on the Southwest flank of the13,796-foot Mauna Kea Hawaii s tallest Mountain