Americans hope to fly home spy plane

As US technicians prepared to inspect a grounded Navy spy plane, an American military spokesman said today that Washington still hopes to fly home the aircraft damaged in a collision with a Chinese fighter jet.

Technicians from Lockheed Martin, the main builder of the EP-3E plane, will look at the extent of damage to its engines and body to decide whether it can fly, said Army Lt Col Stephen Barger, a spokesman for the US Pacific Command.

‘‘That’s the preferred way to get it out,’’ Barger said by telephone from Hawaii. ‘‘Otherwise, it would have to be hauled out or possibly disassembled, which would take more time on the ground and would be more cumbersome.’’

US officials had said earlier that China has apparently ruled out flying the plane. It has been held at an air base on Hainan Island in the South China Sea since making an emergency landing there after the April 1 mid-air collision.

Chinese authorities held the 24-member air crew for 11 days while demanding that Washington take the blame for the collision. The confrontation sent ties to their lowest point since US warplanes bombed the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia two years ago.

The US technicians arrived last night in Haikou, the capital of Hainan. They brought with them four cartloads of large cardboard boxes that apparently held tools and other supplies.

Their inspection should take about two days, said Barger.

The technicians, who have refused to talk to reporters, spent this morning sitting in the lobby coffee shop of a Haikou hotel, possibly waiting for a meeting with Chinese officials. Twenty to 30 Chinese agents in civilian clothes and military-style crewcuts sat in the lobby watching them.

Elsewhere on the island, Chinese military guards set up roadblocks near the airbase in the town of Lingshui where the EP-3E is parked. The guards stopped passing cars and checked the identity cards of drivers.

US Ambassador Joseph Prueher yesterday said that the sooner the plane is returned to the United States, the sooner relations can mend.

‘‘The airplane is sort of a corrosive element right now in our relationship. It’s a reminder of a hard spot, and we need to clean that up and get on with things,’’ said Prueher, who played a key role in winning the release of the US crew.

The ambassador, who was ending his 17-month tour in Beijing, spoke to reporters at the Beijing airport as he prepared to board a plane to the United States with his wife, Suzanne.

Prueher expressed hope that China’s willingness to let the US inspectors visit would speed efforts to put the spy plane incident behind them.

‘‘I hope they’ll get a look at it, make an assessment. That’s what we have to do first and then get on to get that out,’’ Prueher said.

Accounts from both sides indicate the plane lost its nose cone and damaged at least one of its four propeller engines in the collision. The impact pushed the US plane into an 8,000ft dive before the pilot regained control.

The Chinese F-8 fighter apparently broke in half, killing the pilot.

US Vice President Dick Cheney said Sunday the plane cannot be flown now and will probably have to be taken out on a barge. The US military will also consider using one of its mammoth C-5 or C-17 transport aircraft to carry the stricken plane out.

US officials said earlier that the Chinese apparently had ruled out allowing the plane to be repaired and flown out on its own.

Chinese state media still carry frequent criticisms of the United States as the world’s bully.

The government has lionized Chinese pilot, Lt Cmdr Wang Wei. On Monday, the Chinese post office issued a commemorative envelope with a photo of Wang and his F-8 jet.

‘‘Comrade Wang Wei gave his young life for safeguarding national sovereignty and security. His spirit lives forever, and people will remember him forever,’’ the envelope says.

The collision occurred over international waters about 60 miles south east of Hainan.

China demanded an apology and an end to spy flights off its coast. The United States called the collision an accident and has refused to end such flights.

One of China’s main military areas, Hainan Island is dotted with People’s Liberation Army bases. It sits in Tonkin Gulf near Vietnam, with which China fought a brief but bloody war in 1979.