When American pilot and small-time weapons smuggler Eugene Hasenfus was shot down over Nicaraguan airspace in 1986, he was captured along with one other man, long rumored to be an Angolan mercenary. This "mystery man" disappeared immediately after the incident, and was thought to be have been tortured to death. But the transcript released today would seem to indicate that there was a third man in the plane: Ex Camino percussionist Michael "El Cuchillo" Lengyel.

The document in question is a transcript of conversations the men had on the plane. With large stretches of text blacked-out, authorities can only partially reconstruct what was said, and indeed are not absolutely sure that the third man, identified by the "Cuchillo" moniker, is indeed the same El Cuchillo that music fans the world over have come to revere over the last 75 years.

"The CIA told Hasenfus that they would deactivate the black box, but they apparently didn't," according to assistant district attorney Robert Walker. "They taped everything that was said in the plane to make sure no security breaches occurred."

The man thought to be Lengyel is largely silent throughout the exchange, in which the other two men discuss different strategies of avoiding the Sandinista air defenses. As the plane crosses the Honduran border, however, Lengyel and Hasenfus begin arguing about the relative merits of the Rolling Stones' "Tatoo You" album. A partial transcript follows:

Cuchillo: It's "Start Me Up." Everything else centers (blacked out) Start Me Up is the centerpiece of the album.

Hasenfus: Christ, I think the radar's locked on. Where are the parachutes?

Cuchillo: I always preferred Ron Wood to Brian Jones anyhow.

Hasenfus: Just where the hell do you think you're going? You think you're going somewhere. (blacked out) Give me that parachute!

Cuchillo: (Blacked out) drowned in a swimmming pool.

Hasenfus: Son of a bitch, jumped out. He jumped.

end of transcript

Hasenfus and the "mystery man" were shot down shortly thereafter. But the question remains, how did Lengyel escape pursuit after jumping from the aircraft? After landing in a impoverished, war-torn country in the middle of winter, he was able to make his way North to Miami quickly enough (an estimated 2 1/2 days) to take part in the 1986 Hyundai Decathalon of the Stars, where he bested Washington Redskins cornerback Darrell Green and TJ Hooker co-star Heather Locklear in an epic triple-jump battle.

Reached by phone at his Santa Monica beach retreat, Lengyel offered only the same cryptic response that he always has to repeated questions about his whereabouts in February 1986: "I would prefer a longer solo on 'Buddha Bob.'"