European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 13, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 8 the stars and stripes. . Wednesday july 13,1994many airfields not fit for c-17/ Agency says by the los Angeles times Washington a the general accounting office said monday that the Mcdonnell Douglas c-17 cargo plane can land on fewer than half of the nearly 10,000 foreign airfields that the . Air Force has claimed in justifying the $43 billion program. Despite years of assertions by the air Force that the plane has a revolutionary capability to land and take off at unimproved airstrips the Gao found that Many of the foreign Fields Are too weak to support the weight of the c-17. A an air Force spokesman declined comment saying the service had not yet seen the Gao a report. But in recent congressional hearings senior air Force officials have sharply disputed similar criticism raised by the Rand corp. The plane has survived a number of technical setbacks and it is too Early to assess whether the latest revelation Wilt cause serious political damage to the program. The air Force has said the planes will Cost an average of $325 million Over the life of the program a by far the costliest cargo Jet in history. The air Force has Long asserted that the c-17 can land at about three times As Many airfields As the rival Lockheed c-5b Jet a 9,900 for the c-17 is. 3,500 for the c-5b a a crucial capability for supporting . Military operations in Remote parts of world. The c-17 is designed to land in less than 2,000 feet enabling supplies to be flown directly from . Cargo bases into foreign Battle zones. The plane features a new design in which the engines thrust blows Over the wings to create extra lift on landings and takeoffs. But that might have Little value if foreign runways Are too weak. A a a a a. The new Gao report examined the strength of those 9,900 foreign airfields and concluded that 6,198 of them Are structurally too weak to support the heavy w eight of a fully loaded c-17. Quot after examining the data of the defense mapping Agency Gao investigators Quot found that the c-17 can land at just 911 More airfields than the c-5b a not the 6,400 claimed originally. Moreover of the 2,800 foreign Fields actually visited by american teams the c-17 could land at Only 95 More Fields than the c-5b, not including those in North  up up and away Cape canaveral Fla. A us of get that Man off Columbia. Payload commander Richard Hieb is growing in orbit and he now exceeds nasal a height limit for astronauts. Hieb started the two week Laboratory Mission Friday at 6 feet 3 inches. On monday he topped 6-foot-4, the limit for someone on a space shuttle. A according to my Quick calculations Here i seem to have grown about an Inch or so. So in a now too tall to Fly in space a Hieb informed payload controllers after measuring himself As part of a medical Experiment. A and that a without  a i just Hope the flight directors not listening a a ground controller in Alabama told him. A we heard that a said a voice from Mission control in Houston. Astronauts a tall and Short alike a tend to grow 2 or More inches in space because of an elongated spine a phenomenon caused by the absence of Gravity. The change often is accompanied by Back pain. Astronauts revert to their Normal Heights once Back on Earth. Hieb and japanese astronaut Chiaki Mukai a columbian a tallest and shortest astronauts a Are measuring themselves each morning so researchers can compare growth to soreness. The two also Are recording the curvature of their spines via stereo photography and sending tiny electric impulses through their spinal column nerves to see if the nerves function properly when stretched. Alan Mortimer project scientist for the Canadian space Agency said the findings should contribute to the treatment of Back pain on Earth As Well As in space. There a no word yet on Mukai a soaring height but not to worry. She started out at 5-foot-2.  must be at least 4 feet iov2 inches tall to be accepted into the program and at least 5 feet 4 inches to be a shuttle Pilot. They must be Able to reach the controls and fit into the launch and Landing pressure suits. Likewise they would be squashed in their seats if they were too tall. This asian crab eating Monkey is the same kind As the 33 stolen from a Breeding facility near Miami on Friday.$5,000 Reward dangled for return of 33 monkeys Miami apr Call it the Case of the purloined primates police Are looking for 33 missing monkeys. Primate dealer Matthew Block said monday that the year old asian crab eating monkeys were stolen Friday from a Breeding facility he owns. He a offering a $5,000 Reward. Each Monkey is Worth up to $1,000. Although the animals were bred for research Block thinks they probably were stolen to be sold As pets. A Block warned that the monkeys Are hard to domesticate. A a they la bite. They Are Nasty a he said. He also said they May carry a virus similar to herpes that does no to h Arm monkeys but can be fatal to humans if the animals scratch or  horses starving on government Range from the associated press White Sands missile Range . A eighty one horses have starved to death on White Sands missile Range because of drought and overpopulation. The horses belonged to a Herd of about 400 that remains at risk. A we have a group of horses that Are too weak to move a Larry Furrow chief of Public affairs at White Sands said monday. The wild horses at White Sands Are descendants of horses there when the government took Over the property in 1945. White Sands has asked the state department of game and fish to help Deal with the  comes the judge Mansfield Ohio a a Fleet footed judge who chased Down a Man dashing out of the courthouse is the first to admit he made bad judgment Call. ? thinking the Man was a fugitive Richland county municipal judge Donald Hoover did no to think a he just dropped his Robe and Rani but the Man running away Wasny to wanted. Douglas Murphy had raced off Friday after being charged with disorderly conduct for arguing with a court officer Over payment of fines. Murphy ran past hoovers courtroom and the race was on. Hoover kept up the Chase for 20 minutes. I finally found him hiding behind a Bush a Hoover said. Murphy pleaded innocent monday to disorderly conduct and was free on Bond. Quot a. A 1 a a car theft ends in death Denver a three youths stole a car and hijacked two More monday killing one Driver and wounding another before leading a Chase that ended with a crash police said. Two teens were arrested fleeing the crash scene. The third suspect got away by eluding police bloodhounds. A pistol and a Shotgun were seized. Detective David g. Mitzler said the youths stole a 1982 Cadillac then shot and killed the Driver of a Chevrolet Camaro to change cars after a shoplifting spree at a convenience store they crashed the Camaro. They then shot a pickup truck Driver and took that vehicle. Later a disturbance report brought police to an apartment Complex in suburban Westminster where they saw the youths driving away in the truck. A Chase ensued before the truck lost a tire and crashed Selzler  ignites Man Taylor Mich a an unidentified Man was killed when his cigarette sparked fumes in a bathroom where he was using gasoline to clean tar off his clothing and arms. The explosion Early monday blew out window s and set the Man on fire. He was found in the Bathtub partially submerged in a mixture of gasoline and water. An elderly woman and her grandson escaped the burning Home with minor  losses weighed Anchorage Alaska the 1989 Oil spill from the Exxon Valdez Isnit to blame for today a Lowe r fish prices com p a by 1 awyers told a jury. Monday be fore the p an e 1 Bega n con s Diering damages in a lawsuit filed by commercial fishermen. Fishermen contend that the spill has caused lasting harm to their livelihoods by depleting fish stocks and that they Are entitled to roughly �900 million in damages. Exxon corp. Maintains coastal Waters have Long since recovered from the spills effects. The Federal jury must first determine if its. 12 members unanimously agree that the 11 million gallon spill was a cause of fishermen a losses. If so they must determine damages for each fishery. Used Van goes to pot Corpus Christi Texas a a Man who was fixing the brakes of a Van that his son bought from a police impound lot discovered 14 bundles of marijuana hidden in the Frame. A i asked the police How much it was Worth. They said a about 15 years a said the Man who called officers to haul away the stash miday. The Man who declined to identified because he fears retribution from drug dealers said his son bought the Van for �900 in june. Police said they seized it after it was used to transport drugs. Dogs usually sniff through the lot to search for drugs