European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 10, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday May 10,1990 workers at Norfolk va., wednesday inspect damage from the Blaze on the guided missile destroyer Conyngham Page 24 the stars and stripes probe begins of Navy ship if by Blaze Norfolk a. Apr the guided missile destroyer Conyngham damaged by a fire so hot its decks were a bubbling a docked wednesday at the Norfolk naval station As the Navy began investigating the Blaze that killed a crewman. Eighteen other sailors including the no. 2 officer were injured in the worst shipboard fire since a string of accidents prompted the Navy to suspend operations for a two Day safety Check in november. A second Navy Man was killed in a separate Accident on Chesapeake Bay. Six of the sailors with less serious injuries accompanied the ship Back to port before going to the Hospital said capt. Paul Hanley Atlantic Fleet spokesman. Twelve others had been flown from the ship to hospitals. The Conyngham with a Large scorch Mark on its right Side just above the water line docked at 2 30 a.m., 21 hours after the fire erupted during routine operations about 100 Miles Southeast of Norfolk said it. . Karl Johnson an Atlantic Fleet spokesman. The lire aboard the 27-year-old ship started in the no. I boiler room As the boiler was being fired up and spread to the ships nerve Center said White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater. A the fire spread to the combat information Center spaces which caused the Captain to evacuate the combat information Center and the Bridge temporarily leaving the ship without communications and dead in the water a Fitzwater said. Killed was it. Algernon Pope Gordon jr., 34, of Montgomery Ala. He was the ships operations officer in charge of collecting evaluating and disseminating tactical information. Three of the 12 sailors airlifted to hospitals were reported in guarded condition the rest in satisfactory condition including it. Cmdr. Martin Moody of Indian head md., the ships executive officer. In another Accident tuesday a propeller broke apart and threw debris onto the deck of a Navy hovercraft involved in a towing exercise at the Mouth of Chesa Peake Bay killing a crewman. The Navy identified die victim As Petty officer 3rd class Norbert Thomas Hanke of Louisville by. No age was immediately available. Last fall the Navy ordered a two Day stand Down during which ships and installations reviewed Salty procedures. Since the stand Down fewer accidents have been reported Navy officials said although no statistics immediately were  from Page 1 Over West Germany by 20 percent this year and plans an additional 30 percent drop next year by moving it to other european Sites or to Canada Boyle said. The crash prompted a Karlsruhe City Council Resolution demanding an end to All military air Maneu vers Over Urban areas. Karlsruhe lord mayor Gerhard Seiler issued a statement wednesday calling the canadians announcement a a sign of Good  Seiler added that he will go to Bonn to press the West German government to get other nato nations to also halt combat practice Over cities. Boyle during a news conference wednesday at Canadian forces base Baden Solingen used plastic models and slides to explain How the planes collided. The two pilots flying line abreast were starting the last of four simulated combat engagements at an Altitude of 14,000 feet and about 7,000 feet from each other. As the planes banked and turned in toward each other Boyle said each Pilot realized the danger of collision and tried to turn More sharply and Fly up Over the other plane. A human factors led two pilots to make corrective measures toward each other. That Sall that happened a Boyle said. A a it a like two people walking Down a corridor. Where you come face to face and you re sort of jockeying for position. Unfortunately at a closure rate of 1,000 Miles an hour we can t  by inadvertently using the same Man Euver the two pilots flew their planes into each other. A Wing on the plane flown by capt. Reginald Decoste 35, struck the underside of the other plane under the pilots seat instantly killing capt. Timothy Kirk Leuty 30. At the same time one of Leuty swings sliced decoster a plane in half. The collision and subsequent fireball blasted the two aircraft into hundreds of pieces which showered the South end of Karlsruhe. Decoste parachuted onto a German expressway suffering a broken Heel injuries to the other Heel and second degree bums. On april 18, the canadians suspended All air to air combat training Over West Germany while awaiting the investigation results. When another of the forced jets crashed into the Pacific Ocean off Vancouver Island on april 22, the fifth loss of a Cf-18 since the year began defense minister Bill Mcknight grounded All Cf-18s for two Days. Boyle said Canadian rules of engagement require pilots to pass oncoming planes on the night. Pilots also must avoid flying across another pilots line of flight however and in the Karlsruhe situation the two pilots had no other guidance to avoid a crash. In future such situations Boyle said the Lead Pilot must Fly High and the Wing Pilot Low so they avoid each other. He also ordered a limit on the number of aircraft participating in combat training scenarios and briefings and reviews of training objectives before each flight. Boyle declined to characterize the pilots decisions in the Karlsruhe Accident As errors saying they tried to avoid each other using established procedures. A its an unfortunate event a he said a and now we be put in place the mechanisms which will ensure through proper briefing techniques. That this does t happen  from Page 1 occupied a Block around the . Information service Center for two hours before being driven Back by volleys of tear Gas fired from Black armoured police vans. Students broke at least seven windows at the four Story Center and threw firebombs into a first floor window touching off a fire that raged out of control for More than an hour with flames reaching up to the second Story. Firemen and . Army fire trucks from the nearby american base extinguished the Blaze after police re gained control of the Street. The front Gate of the Center was shuttered and it was not known whether there were people inside the building which includes a Library and agriculture and Trade offices. An embassy spokesman said no . Personnel were known to be in the building during the fighting and no damage estimate was available. In front of the luxury hotel Lotte across the Street from the american building a torched police bus and a jeep burned several hours. The hotel was shuttered its driveway littered with broken bottles Glass and rocks. Hotel employees on duty in the lobby wore Gas masks. The protests were the most violent in the capital since news briefs Security breach forces nato ambassador to resign from staff and wire reports Brussels Belgium a Luxembourg a ambassador to nato resigned april 25 because of a a breach of Security rules a the Luxembourg minister of foreign affairs said wednesday. Guy de Muser 64, had been Luxembourg a permanent representative to nato and his country a ambassador to Belgium since 1986. The country traditionally combines the two posts. Indicating the infraction was a minor one Jacques Poos said that de Muser will remain envoy to Belgium. The Security breach stemmed from several trips de Muser made to the soviet Union. According to sources he gave out nato documents whose contents had already been publicly reported. Citing a preventive reasons a the government withdrew Demuysere a Security clearance april 25, effectively forcing his resignation. De Muser had been ambassador to the soviet Union from 1981 to 1983. Officials at nato Headquarters declined to comment on the  cuts of $ 1.7 billion reportedly proposed in Britain London apr the Treasury wants to Cut Britain a defense budget by $1.7 billion or 4.8 percent in response to the easing of East West tensions the London evening Standard reported wednesday. The defense ministry called the report a speculative a while the Treasury said it would not speculate on future government  vets snub Quayle at ceremony in Paris Paris apr vice president Dan Quayle hailed americans world War ii soldiers wednesday As heroes who Laid the groundwork for european Unity but some veterans snubbed a ceremony because of Quayle a military record. But one of the legionnaires who attended the ceremony at the . Embassy said that several people m his 750-member organization declined to participle because they believed Quayle avoided combat my during the Vietnam War by joining the Indiana National guard