Missionary plane shot down in Peru

Christian Century, May 9, 2001

Peru's air force denied April 23 that it did anything wrong in an incident that led to the death of a missionary and her daughter when their plane was shot down April 20 in the South American country. But friends and relatives of the missionaries said they were fired on without warning.

A pontoon-equipped single-engine Cessna carrying missionaries affiliated with the Pennsylvania-based association of Baptists for World Evangelism was forced to crash-land in the Amazon River after a Peruvian fighter jet opened fire on the plane, which it mistakenly thought was transporting illegal drugs. Missionary Veronica Bowers and her seven-month-old daughter, Charity, were killed. Pilot Kevin Donaldson underwent surgery after being seriously wounded in both legs in the incident. Reportedly, the jet strafed the survivors as they clung to the plane's burning wreckage in the river.

There are conflicting reports about whether regular procedures were followed in the time leading up to the incident, and disagreements persist between Peru and the U.S. over the exact sequence of events. According to American officials, CIA-contracted personnel on a U.S. surveillance plane flying nearby urged the Peruvian jet's officers to obtain the small aircraft's tail number, but the Peruvians failed to check that number with officials on the ground. Shortly afterward, according to tape recordings of the incident, the crew of the surveillance plane learned of the error and tried to warn the Peruvian jet, but it was too late.

The interdiction flights, part of a program in which U.S. and Peruvian officials have worked jointly to prevent drugs from entering the U.S., have been suspended pending an investigation.

Jim Bowers was on the downed plane with his wife and daughter but survived, as did son Cory, age six. Bowers issued a statement on the missionary association's Web site thanking those who have prayed for them. Noting that there are various reports about the incident, he added, "I am trusting that the publicity will eventually agree with what I know to be the truth."

The Association of Baptists for World Evangelism is an independent Baptist missions agency founded in 1927. Based in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, it has missionaries in more than 45 countries.