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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 2, 1986)
—l^xasA&Mf^ The tsattalion bl. 82 No. 199 GSPS 045360 12 pages College Station, Texas Tuesday, September 2, 1986 >n Nissa- 10% dtj. -Nissa >oviet passenger ship sinks after collision nted as MOSCOW (AF) — A (il-year-old iviet ship bi^ enough to carry at ast 870 passengers collided with a eighter at night in the Black Sea Id sank with a loss of lives, officials id Monday. They did not give a snaky figure. |Foreign radio monitors said thev CUStOFTF ( * 1 not * iear a distress signal aftei ® Be collision between the passenger 775*15(1|I ip and Soviet freighter Sunday » '■t Sean h and i est uc o|>< i .ttt< )iis t < m tued Monday night, about 20 mrs after the ship went down, OCi r ocurve) NSES LENSE according to officials in the Black Sea ports of Odessa and Novoros- sivsk. A Naval Ministry official said by telephone late Monday that the freighter remained afloat. He would not answer other questions. Soviet media carried only a brief statement from the Communist Party Central Committee and Soviet government, ft was the second sink ing of a Soviet passenger liner in seven months. 1 he official announcement, dis tributed bv the lass news agency. said only that the 17,053-ton Admi ral Nakhimov collided with a cargo ship not far f rom Novorossiysk and sank on the night of Aug. 31. “Rescue measures have been taken," the official news agency said. “T he necessary assistance is ren dered to those affected. There has been loss of life.” It did not say how many people were aboard, how many were dead, if any foreigners were among the passengers or what route the ship was following. Lloyd's Registry of Ships, pub lished in London, savs the ship had berths for 870 passengers. A Soviet citizen who sailed on it in 1971 said many other fourth-class passengers customarily slept on the uppermost of its f our decks. An official of the Black Sea fleet in Novorossiysk, reached by tele phone from Moscow, said that whether the ship went down late Sunday night or very early Monday still was not known. That indicated it sank quickly. In Turkey, across the Black Sea, none of the major radio stations monitoring maritime frequencies along the coast reported hearing an SOS from the Admiral Nakhimov. All the monitors said they could pick up Novorossiysk, about 60 miles southeast of the Crimean Peninsula. The official in Novorossiysk, who did not give his name, also refused to say how many people were aboard the Admiral Nakhimov or how many people were killed. He said the rescue operation con tinued at 7 p.m. Moscow time, in volving “many" men and ships, but he would not be more specific. A shipping official in Odessa, the liner’s home port, also said by tele phone that rescue work continued. He would not discuss the accident and hung up when asked how many lives were lost. l ass said a government commis sion was appointed to investigate the collision and sinking, headed by First Deputy Premier Geidar A. Al iev. a member of the party’s ruling Politburo. Choice of Aliev as com mission chairman indicated the se riousness of the accident. ’lane’s position jnknown when rash occurred JRDA'I CERRITOS, Calif. (AP) — Air iffic controllers likelv did not tow the position of a small airplane it collided with a jetliner, killing 167 people on the planes and leav- ig 10 missing and feared dead on je ground, officials said Monday. Ilie single-engine Piper Archer as not in contact with the control directing air traf fic near Los An- E101C At least 27 77840 "on jet were Americans MEXICO CITY (AP) — A U.S. [Embassy official said Mondas that at least 27 Americans, most of them returning f rom a holiday [on Baja California, were aboard I the Aeromexico jet that collided [with a small plane and crashed j neat Los Angeles, killing every one aboard. A San Antonio couple, Stanley Stein, a real estate developer, and his wife, Sandy Stein, a real estate broker, were among the con firmed dead. Meanwhile, the spokesman for the Mexican Ait line Pilots’ Asso ciation said the collision may have been caused by the “tremendous congestion” of air traffic in Southern California. Mexican pilots regard the Ti- juana-to-Los Angeles route, the last leg of Aeromexico’s Flight 489, as especially risky because so many amateur pilots ily on week ends, spokesman, Capt. Arnoldo Reyes said. A U.S. Embassy official said the consulate in Mexico City iden tified 25 passengers who boarded at Loreto as Americans. Two other Americans boarded at Ti juana, the of ficial said. Authorities were trying to de- See Victims, page 12 ecial oon and off peril 846-15$ geles International Airport, where the Sunday crash occurred, said John Lauber, a National Transpor tation Safety Board supervisor. Authorities said 64 people, in cluding at least 27 Americans, were aboard Aeromexico Flight 498, a DC-9 from Mexico City that was on its landing approach to Los Angeles, and three people were in the Piper when the planes collided a few min utes before noon Sunday. Lauber, speaking at a news con ference, said the light plane had a transponder, a device that could broadcast its position, but “we don’t know if the transponder was in fact working.” He said controllers could have de tected transponder signals given off by the small plane, but “it seems un likely they knew eitfier the position or the altitude of the small plane.” “Whether or not the controllers saw it . . . that’s a question,” Lauber said. He said paint scrapes found on the Aeromexico DC-9’s horizontal stabilizer “seem to match at this point the paint scheme used on the smaller aircraft.” Asked if that indicated the smaller plane collided with the rear of the |et, Lauber said, “That looks like it might be a reasonable interpreta tion.” The small plane’s pilot “was not in contact with the proper terminal,” Lauber said. He did not say whether the plane might have been in contact with other controllers. The jetliner had received clear ance to descend from 7,000 feet to 6,000 feet just before the collision, he said. Officials from the safety board’s local office have requested drug tests on a controller directing traffic at the time of the accident, but the re quest was still pending, said Lauber. Streets, homes and trees in a six- by eight-block section of an upper- middle-class neighborhood were lit tered with steel, flesh, charred cars, luggage and ashes by Los Angeles See Crash, page 12 Photo by Tom Ownbey Head Yell Leader Marty Holmes leads the crowd in “The Spirit of Aggieland” during All University Night, which was held Monday at Kyle Field. Aggies unite at All-University Night By Olivier Uyttebrouck Suitt Writer The air at Kyle Field was thick with congratulations Monday night for Texas A&M’s athletic triumphs, almost as thick as the humidity, as A&M paraded some of its luminaries for All-Univer sity Night, the school’s traditional first-day yell practice. Rain threatened. And threat ened. And threatened — but never came down, in spite of all the chanting. Head Yell Leader Marty Holmes humored the crowd with traditional jokes and they replied with traditional whoops, gestures and hisses. Example: “Before 1964, women weren’t allowed at A&M," Holmes said to a hissing crowd. “Before that, we asked the women to come in on the trains.” The whoops re sounded. The crowd was introduced to the new freshmen football play ers and the women shouted their approval for the most attractive men. But the biggest cheers went to a guy who tripped over the edge of the track. Holmes also introduced the women’s volleyball team. Dr. John Koldus, vice presi dent for student services, wel comed back the students and re newed an offer he made earlier at Fish Camp to buy lunch for any one who stops him on campqs and introduces himself. Head Football Coach Jackie Sherrill presented an official football jersey to Holmes and a Twelf th Man towel to Koldus. As with many traditions, All-U Night has an obscure origin diffi cult to trace to a particular year. Retired Lt. Gen. Ormond Sim pson says A&M didn’t have an All-U Night back in 1936, the year he graduated. In Simpson’s college days, when all 4,000 students were in the Corps of Cadets, there was little need for such a unifying exercise. Besides, yell practice was a nightly event anyway, Simpson recalls. Following the evening meal, cadets would congregate at the YMCA Building. The familiar stance yell leaders strike today, with their hands on their upper arms and the right foot hiked up behind the left knee, is intended to recall the days when yell leaders climbed up and down the narrow steps of the YMCA, rolling up their shirt sleeves, Simpson says. At least 44 die on Texas highways Deaths mar holiday weekend Registration Deadlines Sent. 2-S Tuesday Pavilion Late registration 8-12.1-5 Wednesday Drop/Add Late registration 8-12.1-5 Thursday Drop/Add Late registration 8-12.1-5 Friday* Drop/Add Late registration 8-12.1-5 Drop/Add •Late registration ends Friday (AP) Labor Day weekend for most Texans meant fun and relaxation before returning to work and school today, but the holiday was grim on Texas highways, where at least 44 people died in traffic accidents. The fatality count continued to climb while the Labor Day weekend drew to a close, the Department of Public Safety said. Earlier, state officials warned that the final death count could exceed the DPS’ original prediction of 43 deaths for the 78-hour period ended at midnight Monday. Traffic accidents killed 52 people over the Labor Day weekend last year in Texas. DPS spokesman David Wells ear lier said, “We’re going to have a high volume of return traffic and the pos sibility of inclement weather makes it likely we wall exceed the estimate.” The Department of Public Safety feared its original prediction of 43 deaths would he surpassed by mid night. T he threat of rain marred a con cert and fireworks show for a crowd of 100,000 people Sunday night along the banks of the Trinity River in Dallas. T he crowd had singer Ray Wylie come to hear Hubbard and watch the fireworks display, which was forced to go off an hour late. “We had $30,000 worth of fire works,” show spokeswoman Mary Brown said. “And when it started to drizzle we knew we couldn’t afford to do it tomorrow or next week. So we moved it up to 8:30.” T he threat of rain hung over Texas on Monday as cloudy skies and scattered showers and thunder storms were the dominant weather feature. Temperatures were unseasonably cool, with most afternoon readings in the 60s and 70s. Labor Day also was the first day that 19- and 20-year-old Texans were not able to drink legally. A state law raising the drinking age from 19 to 21 went into ef fect at 12:01 a.m., forcing many young people to take their last legal drink Sunday night. The state’s major league baseball fans, enthralled by the presence of the Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers in the pennant chase, had to settle for radio broadcasts and telecasts of their favorite teams. Soviets plan to hold reporter for 10 days fdAl 1 liver t* 11 MOSCOW (AP) — The wife of American reporter Nicholas Dani- ■lolTsaid Monday that Soviet authori- ■ties plan to keep him in jail for a 10- ■day investigation before deciding whether to release him or charge him with spying. Ruth Daniloff called the investiga tion “a complete farce” and said she feared her husband would be put on trial. Mortimer B. Zuckerman, chair man of U.S. News & World Report, the weekly magazine that employs Daniloff, called the jailing “a phony arrest based on contrived circum stances.” Zuckerman flew here Monday front Washington and said he would meet with senior Soviet officials to day to press for release of the 52- year-old newsman. Danilof f has told his wife he was jumped by eight KGB agents Satur day after meeting a Soviet acquaint ance who gave him a package later found to contain two maps marked “top secret” and photographs of So viet military installations. Daniloff’s wife and the couple’s 16-year-old son, Caleb, spent about an hour with him Monday in an an nex of east Moscow’s Lefortovo Prison. U.S. Consul General Roger Daley accompanied them to Lefortovo but was not present for the meeting with Daniloff. Daniloff was interrogated for four hours Saturday in Lefortovo. His wife said he was questioned again Monday, but she gave, no details. Outside the prison, Mrs. Daniloff told reporters her husband “will be held for 10 days. . . . (Then) they will decide whether they are going to re lease him or charge him.” She said both Daniloff and KGB investigator Valery D. Sergodeyev mentioned the time limit. Whether the 10 days would be counted from his arrest Saturday was not clear, she said. “I am very pessimistic because, you know, they found this incrimi nating information that was planted on him, so the investigation itself is a complete farce,” Mrs. Daniloff said. She said once the investigation is over, “I think they will probably put him on trial. Unless something hap pens in between.” Daniloff has suggested through his wife that his detention is a Soviet response to the Aug. 23 arrest in New York of Gennady F. Zakharov, a Soviet United Nations’ employee chargedwith trying to buy U.S. se crets. Zakharov, who has no diplo matic: immunity, is being held with out bail. Mrs. Daniloff said her husband was “very subdued” Monday but “greatly heartened when I told him about the kind of press coverage he was getting.” s “He was concerned about being forgotten, and I said, ‘Well, it’s a big story.’ And he said, ‘You know it’s a big story today, but maybe in two months time it will no longer be such a big stoic,' ” she reported. She said he told her that KGB photographers were present at his arrest, and also when the package was opened at Lefortovo. Daniloff is allowed to exercise once a day in what she called “a sort of cage” on the prison roof and otherwise spends his time reading a Russian-language collection of works by French author Victor Hugo, she said. With Daniloff in the cell is “this character, (Soviet) physicist person,” she went on. ‘‘I think he (Daniloff) understands very well the role of this gentleman in the cell with him.” Mrs. Daniloff said she did not ex pect to see her husband again until at least the end of the week. Budget bill approved by Senate AUSTIN (AP) — The Senate on Monday approved a bill that would allow the governor and Legislative Budget Board to make changes in the state budget while the Legislature is not in ses sion. The measure would authorize the governor — if the governor thought an emergency existed — to propose changes in the budget. The budget board, made up of five senators and five House members, would hold a public hearing to approve, reject or modify the governor’s proposal.