The CRRES G-9 barium release was designed for the investigation of the field line tracing between the release point at 17.4 ¿N latitude and the area of ion cloud sedimentation at about -41 ¿S latitude. Very recently published images of the ion cloud after the release showed the development of at least two weak filaments between the release point and the main ion cloud [Zaitsev et al., 1996>. Observations made from an aircraft in the south Atlantic region verify that at least one of these filaments survived the transequatorial transit and was still separated from the main barium cloud during sedimentation.¿ 1997 American Geophysical Union