The eagle lands, followed by decoy

Mumbai: At about 11.30 am on Saturday, the most recognised aircraft in the world, Air Force One crossed over from Karachi air traffic control area and entered Indian airspace over the Rann of Kutch.
A little over an hour later, at 12.48pm, the blue-and-white Boeing 747-200 B made a surprise touchdown at the Mumbai airport by opting for Runway 14. This made it, perhaps, the first-ever VVIP aircraft to have ever landed on the lesser-used, smaller runway, which is infamously shunned by some international airlines. Air Force One had been expected to land on the main runway 27.
Air Force One then taxied to Apron Lima, where Marine One, the US President's helicopter and its decoy, along with three other US marine choppers, were parked. At a distance away were CISF sniffer dogs, the Bomb Disposal Squad Unit, fire and rescue tenders, US secret service agents with dark glasses and walkie-talkies, and a crowd of khaki-clad CISF personnel and policemen.
The aircraft door opened at 12.54 pm, but then several minutes of wait followed as the step ladder took a bit of time to be aligned with the aircraft. Finally, at 1.02 pm, the President and his wife Michelle Obama — in a grey dress — walked out holding hands.
The Air Force One decoy also landed by then and waited near the end of runway 14 as the President and his wife boarded Marine One. The helicopter lifted off at 1.09 pm for INS Shikra, a naval helipad located in South Mumbai. The airspace over Mumbai airport was closed from 12.32pm to 12.55pm, said a Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (MIAL) spokesperson.
Since it was not peak hour, only five arriving aircraft were put on hold as the Air Force One landed and Marine One departed.
07/11/10 Manju V/Times of India

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Categories: Airports Nov 2010, Foreign Nov 2010