F 16 Airplane

The Air Force on Tuesday confirmed that it has discovered cracks in some of its F-16 Falcon fighter planes and called them relatively minor, not enough to ground the fleet. Capt. George Sillia, an Air Force spokesman, said that cracks were found in 10 F-16s operated by the U.S. Air Force and in 10 F-16s sold to other countries that he could not immediately identify. The cracks are at a point where the wing attaches to the plane's body.

Defense ministers of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization agreed to transfer 72 U.S. F-16 fighter jets from Spain to Italy and to pay for the relocation with NATO infrastructure funds. Gen. Wolfgang Altenburg, chairman of NATO's military committee, said that the panel had recommended Italy as "the only suitable country." West German Defense Minister Rupert Scholz said the ministers unanimously approved the recommendation during a meeting in Brussels.