European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 12, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday april 12, 1990 the stars and stripes Page 5cheney asks of to explain muffed Mission Washington up a defense Secretary Dick Cheney has asked the air Force to explain Why it incorrectly told him that both 2,000-Gtwikl bombs dropped on Panama by f-117a stealth fighters had hit their targets the Pentagon said tuesday. Cheney Learned from photographs taken by a new York times reporter that one of the two bombs dropped in the dec. 20 invasion fell a Way off target a Pentagon spokesman Pete Williams said. A i think the Secretary was initially told by the air Force in a Good Faith manner that both bombs had hit their targets a Williams said when asked at the Pentagon briefing whether the air Force had deliberately lied to Cheney. A i done to believe there was any a As far As i can Tell a any intent to mislead the Secretary a Williams said. A a he a asked the air Force for an explanation and he a confident hell get one a Williams said. A the Secretary is eager to know the course of this new information How it moved through the Chain of  immediately after the . Invasion Cheney had defended the use of the High technology f-117as in the attack saying the pinpoint accuracy of the $106 million planes probably saved both american and panamanian lives. Two f-u7as were assigned to drop a 2,000-Pound bomb each near the military Barracks at Rio Hato to stun the panamanian defense forces before a Parachute drop by . Army rangers. Williams said one of the bombs was on target hitting about 55 Yards from the Barracks but the other was a Way off target and the miss a was far As we can Tell is due to Pilot  a both the Secretary and i discovered this in the course of answering a question from a prominent member of the Pentagon press corps a Williams said referring to new York times reporter Michael Gordon who had taken photos of the bomb craters and asked Why they were so far apart. Williams said last week that Cheney had just Learned of the off target bomb. The second bomb which is believed to have fallen about 300 Yards from the Barracks a hit an empty Field a Williams said. A i have seen no indication that the off target bomb killed  Williams said there was a kind of a last minute confusion by the two f-117a pilots As they approached the psf Barracks resulting in one of the bombs being dropped far from the first. But Williams maintained that the Mission of the stealth fighters was a Success arguing that the huge explosions created by the bombs probably still had the effect of stunning and confusing psf soldiers. The air Force said monday that an inquiry is under Way to determine How it had received the wrong information. A there certainly was no attempt on the part of the leadership military or civilian to keep any information from defense department leadership. All information was freely provided a the air Force statement said. A there was some confusion regarding some reporting up the Chain of the exact Impact Point of one of the bombs. While that had Little or no Impact on the outcome of the Mission we Are looking into the causes of this reporting confusion Quot it , United Boeing blamed for Hawaii deaths Washington not a Federal investigators said tuesday that improper maintenance by United airlines and a flawed design by the Boeing corp. Were responsible for the Accident last year on a Jet whose cargo door blew open Over hawaiian Waters killing nine passengers. A in its final report on the Accident the National transportation safety Board an Independent investigating Agency also criticized the Federal aviation administration for not moving forcefully after a door on a similar Boeing 747 came ajar three years ago. Although the Agency had published new regulations in 1988 in response to the previous incident calling for stronger locks and More frequent inspections of the doors United had not yet completed the modifications and through a clerical error neglected to conduct All the required inspections. The door on the United Jet blew open when damaged locks failed to engage properly the safety Board concluded. A there were several opportunities for the manufacturer the airline and the Faa to have taken action during the service life of the Boeing 747 that would have prevented this Accident a the Board said. The Accident occurred feb. 24, 1989, shortly after the Jet left Honolulu for new zealand. The plane turned around and returned safely to Hawaii. Among the measures not required until after the Hawaii Accident the Board said were routine ramp inspections by mechanics who can View the locks through special peepholes when the doors Are shut. A Boeing spokesman Jack Gamble said design changes in the locks and new procedures for inspecting them have been adopted since the Accident. The safety boards findings have no Legal standing and under Federal Law cannot be entered into evidence metallurgist James Wildey of the National transportation safety Board holds a Latch pin from cargo door. Mohawk convicted of impeding Fri raid on reservation casinos Syracuse . Apr a Federal jury has convicted a Mohawk Indian of leading armed resistance to a gambling raid at two reservation casinos last summer but found him innocent of a More serious felony charge. The . District court jury on tuesday acquitted the Indian Kaki Rakyron 47, on a charge of using a deadly or dangerous weapon to turn Back Fri agents. It did not consider another felony charge of using a rearm in commission of a crime. Kaki Rakyron also known As Arthur Montour was convicted of conspiracy and forcibly impeding the execution of Federal search warrants during the july 20 raid at the St. Regis reservation. He faces up to three years in prison and a $5,000 the. Sentencing was set for june 12. In closing arguments monday assistant . Attorney John Duncan charged that Kaki Rakyron should excused because of the mohawks belief that the to in a acre reservation on the .-Canadian Border Sovereign and therefore exempt from state and fed. Duncan also disputed the Contention that the mor so urn Stock the Casino raid As an assault on their Una. He said Mohawk sovereignty was not at Issue and charged that Kaki Rakyron wanted to Force a conflict. The confrontation led to a 12-Day standoff. Defense attorney Seth Shapiro argued that the government presented a not one credible shred of evidence Quot to prove his client ordered barricades be erected outside Tony a vegas International and the bears Den casinos during the raid. Kaki Rakyron has said he was just one of Many spokesmen for the Warrior society a self appointed Security Force. Although other casinos were searched and 13 people arrested a group of armed mohawks blocked a Highway and refused to let authorities search the two casinos. Two undercover investigators testified that Casino workers were removing Slot machines from the gambling Parlours in the hours before the pre Dawn raid. Kaki Rakyron testified during the six Day trial that he spent the entire Day of the raid on a portable Telephone trying to negotiate a peaceful settlement to the standoff. Witnesses for both sides testified that Kaki Rakyron had helped negotiate settlements in past conflicts with the mohawks in 1974, 1977 and 1979. In civil trials. But the boards conclusions appear to support the arguments of people who have sued Boeing and United for liability in the Accident. United and Boeing had urged the Board to defer its final report on the Accident until a Navy team using a robot submarine tries to retrieve the door from the floor of the Pacific Ocean an operation that has been delayed until this summer. But investigators citing information that became Public last year during hearings on the Accident said they already knew enough to proceed. Based on their examination and testing of the aircraft investigators concluded that the cargo doors locks had been damaged during intermittent malfunctions in the months earlier when the door had to be shut manually rather than automatically. Crucial evidence came from a metallurgical examination of the lock parts that were left in place around the United planets cargo Bay door. The investigators ruled out a second hypothesis which was that the electric motors that operate the door might have accidentally been switched on during flight causing it to open. The planets design would not allow this to happen without a series of failures involving switches and generators which investigators found did not happen. They concluded that damage to the locks caused by forcing the door shut when it was not put smoothly into place made it possible for mechanics to Latch the door even though its locks were not fully engaged. The locks then gave Way under the cargo Bay a intense internal pressure As the plane climbed. In the 18 Days before the Accident United mechanics had to close the door manually on eight occasions because its automatic controls would not work the investigators  the stars and stripes 40 years ago today. April 12, 1950 a the soviet Union charged that a . Bomber had opened fire on soviet fighter planes Over the Baltic Republic of Latvia three Days earlier. Officers at Safe Headquarters in Wiesbaden feared the aircraft could be a missing unarmed . Navy patrol bomber with 10 aboard and that it May have been shot down.30 years ago today. April 12, 1960 a Premier Fernando Tambroni and his Christian Democrat government resigned after 17 Days in Power plunging Italy into another crisis.20 years ago today. April 12, 1970 a three american astronauts rocketed into space on Many a first Mission to the Moon s forbidding highlands.10 years ago today. April 12, 1980 a iranian president Abolhassan Bani Sadr threatened military action against Israel and Iraq and warned americans Oil thirsty allies that they would not get a so much As snakes Poison from his country if they backed president Carters Call for economic sanctions against Iran