DATE: Sunday, June 22, 1997                 TAG: 9706220131

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A17  EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: THE WASHINGTON POST 

DATELINE: WASHINGTON                        LENGTH:   37 lines

NAVY RESTORES TO FLIGHT STATUS FEMALE PILOT IT GROUNDED IN '95

The Navy returned to flight status Friday the female fighter pilot it grounded two years ago in the midst of an alleged smear campaign against her by civilian activists and Naval aviators opposed to allowing women to fly fighter aircraft.

Lt. Carey Lorenz, whose allegations of sex discrimination are the subject of an upcoming report by the Navy Inspector General, has been given back her right to fly land-based Navy aircraft. However, she will not be allowed to return to the cockpit of the F-14 ``Tomcat'' or any other plane that lands on an aircraft carrier.

The decision was greeted as a victory by Lorenz, and defense sources said the Navy is trying to make amends for her having been subjected to discriminatory treatment by superiors and colleagues at Carrier Air Wing 11 based at the Naval Air Station in Miramar, Calif.

``This is an enormous step towards restoration of her reputation,'' said Susan Barnes, an attorney representing Lorenz in a pending civil case against the Navy.

Barnes said that, practically speaking, ``resistance'' among Naval aviators ``would be too strong against her'' if Lorenz were to return as a fighter pilot.

Lorenz and Lt. Kara S. Hultgreen were the Navy's first two female combat pilots. Hultgreen was killed when the plane she was flying plunged into the ocean on a landing approach in 1994. The Navy determined that the crash was caused by a combination of mechanical problems and pilot error.

Lorenz was grounded in May 1995, one month after receiving an outstanding fitness report and many previous laudatory reports. She was described then by her skipper as an ``unsafe, undisciplined and unpredictable pilot.''

Lorenz alleges the rating was unfair and part of a campaign to oust her.

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