The federal government would pay $8 million to settle the claims of the family of a missionary and her daughter killed when their plane was shot down in Peru

Christian Century, April 10, 2002

* The federal government would pay $8 million to settle the claims of the family of a missionary and her daughter killed when their plane was shot down in Peru, as well as claims by the pilot, under a settlement negotiated by the Bush administration. An attorney for the families confirmed the settlement figure March 22 but said the agreement won't be finalized until Congress approves the money.

"I think the families are feeling that they have at least made progress," said Karen Hastie Williams, the attorney for the family of missionary Veronica "Roni" Bowers of Muskegon, Michigan. A Peruvian fighter jet attacked the airplane carrying Roni Bowers and her daughter April 20, 2001, after it was targeted by CIA contract employees as a potential drug trafficking flight. Bowers's husband, Jim, and son, Cory, survived the attack, as did pilot Kevin Donaldson. The settlement details came two days after the White House issued a formal apology to the Bowers family, Donaldson and the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism, which sponsored the Bowerses' missionary work. The statement absolved Donaldson of any responsibility in the crash. A similar statement was issued by Peru.