Inhofe's Plane Evades Ground Fire In Iraq

Thursday, August 30th 2007, 8:33 pm

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) _ It was a scary moment for an Oklahoma senator and others who were aboard a military cargo plane that had to take evasive maneuvers to avoid ground fire in Baghdad. Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe and three other lawmakers said the C-130 they were riding came under fire from three rocket-propelled grenades for several minutes as they left for Amman, Jordan.

Besides Inhofe, Senators Mel Martinez, Richard Shelby and Congressman Bud Cramer were on board.

Cramer and Martinez said they had just begun to relax about five or 10 minutes after the plane took off under darkness.

Cramer says crew members apparently communicated to the pilots as they saw the initial grenades fired from the ground. After the first burst, the pilots maneuvered aggressively and set off flares used for drawing incoming fire away from aircraft.

Lawmakers say once the flares lit up the sky, two more grenades were fired as the pilots continued maneuvering.

Despite the scare, Shelby, Martinez and Cramer said they believed the recent increase in troop levels has helped stabilize parts of the country.