Venezuela accuses U.S. of airspace incursion

[Rockville]

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuela's foreign minister said the U.S. ambassador will be summoned to explain an alleged incursion by a U.S. military plane in Venezuelan airspace.

Venezuelan Defense Minister Gen. Gustavo Rangel Briceno said the U.S. Navy plane was detected in Venezuelan airspace Saturday near the Caribbean island of La Orchila and the plane was contacted by radio.
Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said U.S. Ambassador Patrick Duddy is being called in to explain.

U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Robin Holzhauer says the United States is looking into "any possible accidental incursion of Venezuelan airspace."
Venezuelan officials announced the move Monday at a news conference where they also expressed concern about an alleged incursion by Colombian troops.
Colombia's defense minister has denied Venezuela's allegation that troops crossed the border.

AP 05-19-2008 11:55 am

[Rockville]

U.S. Official: Navy Plane May Have Entered Venezuelan Airspace

WASHINGTON —
A U.S. Navy plane apparently accidentally crossed into Venezuela's airspace Saturday night, triggering protests from that country, according to a U.S. defense official familiar with the report.

The S-3 Viking aircraft, based in Curacao, was on a training mission in international airspace near Los Roques Island, Venezuela, and experienced "intermittent navigational problems," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The aircraft is used for counter-narcotics missions. Navy crew on the S-3 reported they had a brief radio conversation with air traffic control personnel in Maiquetia, and believed that they had mistakenly flown into Venezuelan airspace, the official said.
Navy officials are investigating the incident to determine exactly what happened.

According to the defense official, the S-3 crew was under the air control of Curacao, but was told to switch frequencies to Maiquetia. Based on the "agitated" tone of the conversation with traffic controllers in Maiquetia, the official said the crew realized the likely error.
The official said the crew had some language problems during the three-minute radio conversation with Maiquetia personnel.
"They promptly responded and identified themselves as U.S. Navy, on a training mission in international airspace, and that a navigational error had possibly occurred," said the official.

The S-3 aircraft were originally used for anti-submarine warfare and maritime surveillance, but are now used largely for counter-narcotics activities. The S-3 involved in the incident provides support for the Joint Interagency Task Force South, based in Key West, Fla.

Venezuela will summon the U.S. ambassador to explain the violation of its airspace by a U.S. military plane, the country's foreign minister said Monday.

Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said U.S. Ambassador Patrick Duddy will be called in to discuss the matter. "We will ask for an explanation," Maduro said.

AP, Monday , May 19, 2008

[Rockville]

CAG punished for Venezuelan incident

The commander of an air wing has been reprimanded for an incident in May when he flew an S-3B Viking into Venezuelan airspace and sparked a diplomatic row between U.S. and the oil-rich South American country.
Capt. James Paulsen, commander of Carrier Air Wing 1, received a punitive letter of reprimand Friday from Fleet Forces Command chief Adm. Jonathan Greenert.
Paulsen remains in command of the wing, which is based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Va.
Paulsen’s flew the Viking, a surveillance and precision-targeting aircraft, into Venezuelan airspace May 17. He flew over La Orchilla, a Caribbean island with a Venezuelan military base. Enterprise is at Newport News Shipbuilding near Norfolk.
State Department officials said at the time that he was conducting a counternarcotics mission in international airspace and made a navigation error.
Paulsen made contact with the Venezuelan radio tower and told them he was returning immediately to international airspace, State Department officials said in May.
Venezuelan officials denounced the intrusion and summoned the U.S. ambassador to Venezuela to explain the incident.
The Judge Advocate General Manual investigation of the incident is ongoing, and officials may take further disciplinary action, according to a source familiar with the investigation.
Paulsen took over command of the wing in January after serving as the wing’s deputy commander. He received his wings in 1985 and has flown more than 4,600 flight hours.
Tension was already high between the U.S. and Venezuela for several reasons, including President Hugo Chavez’s fiery anti-American rhetoric, Venezuela’s alleged support for a guerrilla movement in Colombia, and talk in Washington that the Bush administration was going to add Venezuela to the official list of states that sponsor terrorism.

Navy Times,
Posted : Friday Oct 17, 2008 16:02:47 EDT

[Antilliaan]

You can see Capt Paulsen here, taxiing out on May 17 in S-3B 1601234/AB-700 of VS-32 for the mission that brought him in Venezuelan airspace.

[Antilliaan]

That should read 160134 of course.