ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times

DATE: Saturday, April 26, 1997               TAG: 9704280073
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL   PAGE: A-1  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: EAGLE, COLO.
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS

BODY PARTS FOUND IN WARPLANE RUINS MILITARY LAB WILL DETERMINE IF REMAINS ARE PILOT'S

The bombs on the plane have not been seen. After the snow melts, searchers will be sent to locate and neutralize the bombs.

The Air Force said Friday it found body parts in the wreckage of an A-10 warplane, indicating the pilot was in the cockpit when it crashed into a mountain.

``What we found was fragmentary human remains,'' Maj. Gen. Nels Running said. ``We are not positive whose human remains they are.''

A military lab will conduct DNA and other tests to determine if the remains are those of Capt. Craig Button, Running said.

The announcement culminated a three-week search for Button's plane after he veered away during a training run April2.

The Air Force took advantage of improved weather at the site Friday to lower three special operations sergeants by cable from a helicopter to recover the remains. The procedure took about an hour.

Winds and rugged terrain in the snowy Rocky Mountains have made the search for remains and wreckage difficult.

Four 500-pound bombs on the aircraft have not been seen, Running said. After the snow melts, searchers will be sent to ``locate and neutralize'' the bombs, he said.

Moments before boarding a TH-53 helicopter, Tech. Sgt. Ishmael Antonio disclosed aerial photos had revealed what appeared to be Button's ``life support equipment'' in a gorge on Gold Dust Peak.

Officials said that was a good indicator that Button had gone down with the plane when it crashed. His mysterious departure from a formation of A-10s during a training mission over Arizona raised questions about his intentions and condition during the flight.

LENGTH: Short :   48 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  ASSOCIATED PRESS. Air Force Pararescue team members 
          Master Sgt. Scott Cooper (left) and Staff Sgt. Keith Severance are 
          lowered from a helicopter while Tech. Sgt. Ishmael Antonio reaches 
          to grab them near the wreckage of the A-10 warplane. color.
KEYWORDS: FATALITY