Their planes are getting bigger into
Hawaii today on a huge Air Force C-17.
And the crowds out to greet them are
growing, too, as the U.S.
spy plane crew gets closer to home.
The 21 men and three women will be
here at Hickam Field for two days of
debriefings, disclosing what they could
and could not do to destroy secret
surveillance gear and data before
the Chinese got their EP three
and describing the midair collision.
Today's hero is Navy Pilot Lieutenant
Shane Osborn, just 26.
He wrestled the wounded EP three out of a
dove, made the call not to ditch
at sea or have the crew bail out and
landed safely.
Osborn spoke for his team.
I'd like to thank everybody support
all over. We didn't. We didn't hear much
about it at first, but
I'd like to thank the support for these
past 12 days. It's.
It definitely helps in Nebraska.
Osborne's mom and dad watched on MSNBC.
I hope no,
no other parents ever have to go through
this on the on the on the beginning
end. But what a feeling on this.
It's this is great.
President Bush watched on TV over lunch
at the White House with Vice President
Dick Cheney.
He spoke to the free detainees for five
minutes by telephone, then signaled
a hard line when the U.S.
and China meet on the incident.
Next week, I will ask our United States
representative to ask
the tough questions
about China's recent practice of
challenging United States aircraft
operating legally in international
airspace.
President Bush is strongly implying that
his administration will continue spy
flights near China.
Even before the American EP, three
crew recently detained there actually
returns to continental United States.
I'm Steve Handelsman, NBC 5
at the White House.