Hasenfus' Capture
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American Is Captured After Plane Is Downed in Nicaragua Territory WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 - An American-built cargo plane that was shot down over southern Nicaragua on Sunday was operated by a private group led by a retired United States Army major general Reagan Administration officials said today.The officials said the plane was operated by an organization headed by the retired general, John K. Singlaub, and had taken off from El Salvador. It had flown down the Pacific coast of Nicaragua and turned inland to deliver ammunition and supplies to rebels seeking to open a southern front against the Sandinista Government in Managua.Spokesmen for the Administration, the State Department, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of Defense all emphatically denied that the flight was in any way connected with the United States Government C.I.A. Denies a Role-Aides Point to PrivateRightist Organization WASHINGTON,
Oct. 8 - President Reagan strongly suggested today that
he approved of efforts by private American citizens to help
Nicaraguan insurgents fighting the Sandinista Government,
including those Americans who sent in a cargo plane that
was shot down on Sunday.But Administration officials disclosed
that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had opened what
was described as a "preliminary investigation"
of those private activities as possible violation of American
neutrality laws.Even so, President Reagan compared the efforts
of private citizens at this time to those of Americans who
joined the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the 1930's to fight
alongside Spanish Republican soldiers against Franco and
his rightist Insurgents. |
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C-123 K Provider
The 1954 model, C-123 paratroop/cargo plane, provided by the CIA
and Ollie North for the Contra/Sandinista 1980's guerilla war
in Nicaragua, in the San Jose airport before disassembly.
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The time-worn cockpit; detaching the wings and the start of the take-apart job.
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Removal of the tail and wings begins...
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The wings are lifted off the fuselage, which is shortly to be a cut in half.
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Towing the plane to Port Caldera, the nearest sea port to the international airport.
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After loading the C-123 on to the ferry, we hit the high seas; arrival at Port Quepos.
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 Winding our way through downtown Quepos... |
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The fuselage being unloaded at Port Quepos.
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Arrival in Manuel Antonio and the start of reconstruction.
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Putting the finishing touches on “Ollie's Folly”
the C-123 finds its final resting place on a hill 300 meters
above the hotel reception.