'Grounded' US aircraft cleared for takeoff

New Delhi: After a thorough check and clearance given by the foreign ministry, the IAF on Saturday cleared US-hired Ukrainian-made AN-124 cargo aircraft to resume its flight to Kandahar.
The cargo plane was on Friday force to land at Mumbai airport after confusion was created by the call sign made by the aircraft. The aircraft owned by a private Russian airline and hired by the Americans for their operations in Afghanistan, claimed that it had clearance from the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation to overfly Indian air space with a call sign attributed to civilian aircraft.
However, the IAF air traffic controller claimed it heard a different call sign generally attributed to a defence aircraft before it entered the Indian air space.
IAF spokesperson T K Singha said on checking the aircraft two vehicles meant for American officials fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan and boxes of medicines were found. There were a total of 18 persons on board the aircraft, including a five-member crew.
Singha said the aircraft was allowed to get airborne after the foreign ministry gave the "Air Operations Routing (AOR) authority to fly over Indian air space changing the call sign of the plane to that of a defence aircraft".
This was, however, not the first time that such an aircraft had intruded into Indian air space. Agency reports quoted unidentified IAF officials as saying the AN-124 had been operating on the same flight plan in the last fortnight and had come under adverse notice because of its call sign.
"The aircraft used a civilian aircraft call sign VDA 4466, whereas its original call sign was REACH 813, which implied it was a military cargo aircraft," they said.
For giving clearance to a foreign military aircraft for using Indian air space, the request has to be routed through MEA, intelligence agencies and then the IAF. In this case, the Russian operator obtained a civilian call sign that led to the confusion.
The aircraft was chartered by the US military for long-range military cargo delivery and air-dropping of troops. It had taken off on Friday for Kandahar from Diego Garcia, the island near Mauritius in the Indian Ocean which has a huge US military base.
21/06/09 Times of India

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Categories: Airports Jun 2009, Foreign Jun 2009, Safety Jun 2009