The Pentagon had a documented secret plan to "fix" McDonnell Douglas Corp.'s severe financial problems late in 1990, according to a confidential audit by the Department of Defense's inspector general.

If the report's finding are borne out, the plan would amount to a bailout of the nation's largest defense contractor -- all undertaken with public funding but without any public debate.

Auditors found that the plan included six options, many of which were "pursued in some form" to increase the amount of Pentagon cash paid to the St. Louis-based aerospace contractor at a time when its business was in crisis.