Pentagon admits secrets were lost on spy plane

The US has admitted that secrets were lost when a spy plane made an emergency landing in China.

The crew of the EP-3E plane attempted to destroy sensitive data and equipment after the plane was damaged in a collision with a Chinese fighter plane.

China has refused to release the damaged aircraft, which landed on Hainan island on April 1, after colliding with a Chinese F-8 fighter jet over the South China Sea.

Rear Admiral Craig Quigley said he felt there was a loss of secret information, but has declined to describe the amount or type of damage done.

The American crew members on board the reconnaissance plane were released 11 days later. US officials debriefed them for two days to glean information about the incident.

The National Security Agency, the government office responsible for collecting electronic intelligence, is conducting a review of the potential damage done by the loss of the top-secret aircraft, said two government officials familiar with the study.

A Defence Department official said that the crew worked quickly to destroy their computerised gear and its contents in the minutes between the collision and the time they were taken off the plane by Chinese soldiers.

He commented: "They did get a lot of stuff. They started through their checklist, which had five or six steps. They had everything electronically zeroed out."

Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, speaking after the crew was released, said they had gone through their checklist and did as much as possible.

The US has demanded that the plane be returned, but talks with the Chinese over the incident have not resolved the situation.