Navy Pilot: 'No Apology is Necessary'

April 14, 2001 -- A collision between a U.S. surveillance plane and a Chinese fighter jet was the Chinese pilot's fault, the American pilot said in his first public comments since the accident.

"I'm here to tell you, we did it right," Lt. Shane Osborn said today of the conduct of his crew during the collision. "No apology is necessary on our part.

"The first thing I thought was this guy just killed us," Osborn added. "I remember looking up and seeing water."

China had demanded a full apology from the United States over the accident, and only released the crew after the United States said it was "very sorry" for the loss of the Chinese jet's pilot, Wang Wei, who is presumed dead. A search for Wang and his plane was called off today.

The families of the 24 men and women detained for by Chinese officials for 11 days on Hainan Island on Whidbey Island, Wash., welcomed back their loved ones at their home base at Whidbey Island, just north of Seattle.

"America should be proud of these 23 airmen; they did a great job," Osborn said, before he and his crew boarded a plane in Hawaii on his way back to the continental U.S.

‘Was it Harrassing? Yes.’

Speaking to the media after he and his crew were debriefed by American military officials in Hawaii, Osborn said Wang twice flew within three to five feet of the American plane as he gestured at it from his cockpit. He said Wang's jet hit the American plane on its third close approach.

"This [American] aircraft was straight, steady, holding altitude, heading away from Hainan Island on autopilot when this accident occurred," Osborn said.

"They weren't intending for this to happen," he said of the Chinese pilots. "No pilot is going to put himself intentionally in an out-of-control flight and have his plane ripped apart. … Was it harrassing? Yes."

Osborn said he struggled to control the plane after the Chinese jet punched holes in its bulkhead and damaged its propeller.

"The plane was in an almost inverted dive," Osborn said. "Once I got wings level, I was still very concerned and still didn't at that point think we were going to get the plane down."

Nicholas Mellos, the senior chief petty officer, said the crew was grateful to get through the ordeal.

"Thank God for the training we do every day," Mellos said, "because let me tell you, without it there would be a different press conference today."

Osborn said the crew was generally well-treated in China, although they lost lots of sleep during lengthy interrogation sessions.

"They were polite to us and respectful," Osborn said. "We were seen by doctors. … They obviously fed us well."

Osborn is scheduled to appear as a guest Sunday on ABCNEWS' This Week.

Yellow Ribbons

About 7,000 people are greeted the crew members upon their arrival at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station on Saturday. Yellow ribbons were plastered all over the town.

President Bush did not attend.

Instead, Bush, wife Laura and other family members were spending the Easter holiday at his ranch near Waco, Texas.

"Our thoughts are also with the men and women of our military, deployed around the world and away from their families," Bush said in his Saturday morning radio address. "They have our sincere gratitude. And on this holiday we offer the thanks of out nation to the 24 service men and women who are no longer in China and are now home."

Experts believe the Bush administration will take a tough stand during a meeting between U.S. and Chinese officials set for April 18.

Whose Fault Was It?

China held the 24-person crew of the EP-3 for 11 days on Hainan Island, where it made an emergency landing after being damaged in the collision on April 1.

American officials say the accident happened in international air space and was caused by the reckless Chinese pilot. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Friday said Chinese pilots have been harassing American surveillance missions, and played video of previous aggressive actions of Chinese fighter pilots against U.S. reconnaissance aircraft operating off the coast of China.

China, which still posesses the American plane from the April 1 collision, claims the crash occurred in Chinese airspace and that the American plane veered into the Chinese jet. They say the American plane then landed on Hainan Island without permission.

Osborn said his damaged plane made at least 15 distress calls before landing. He added that a Chinese pilot in a second jet may have seen the American plane veer after it was damaged from initial contact with Wang's jet.

ABC Radio and ABCNEWS.com's Michael S. James contributed to this report.