Flying body rejects shooting-down excuse

Flying body rejects shooting-down excuse

Paris -The International Aeronautic Federation, which helps run the Gordon Bennett race, rejected Belarus's claim that it shot down a hot-air balloon, killing two Americans competing in the event, because it believed that its national security was threatened. "Close examination of the facts shows that this version of events is unsustainable," the federation said. John Stuart-Jervis, 68, and Alan Bernard Fraenckel, 55, were killed when a Belarussian helicopter shot down their balloon Reuter