ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, May 15, 1990                   TAG: 9005150358
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

BUSH SEEKS AUTHORITY TO FORCE PLANE LANDINGS

The Bush administration this week will seek authority to force planes suspected of carrying narcotics to land for inspection, the Los Angeles Times learned Monday.

The proposal, under which pilots who refuse to land would face a felony charge and up to five years imprisonment, stops short of allowing such planes to be shot down, as some have urged.

Under current practice, U.S. government pilots who intercept suspected drug smugglers over American airspace have no authority to order the planes to land. Instead, they can only follow such planes until they touch down, where a search is permitted.

- The Los Angeles Times 


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