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Mid-air scare for Indian premier
NEW DELHI - A small plane that appeared to tail an aircraft carrying the Indian premier sparking a national security scare belonged to the military, officials said today.Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs Boeing-737 was ordered to circle over New Delhi for 15 minutes late yesterday as a precaution after air controllers saw an unidentified blip on the radar. "An equipment failure in a transponder installed in an Indian airforce Dornier caused the blip on the (radar) screens which seemed to be chasing the prime ministers plane," a senior airforce official told AFP. In fact both planes were on their proper courses. "There was no security breach," the official said a day after the airforce scrambled warplanes to escort Singhs aircraft down to safety. The prime minister was returning from a day-long trip to the eastern Indian city of Ranchi. Singhs special plane only recently has been equipped with military radars and other anti-missile defence systems against possible attacks by anti-Indian rebels. Posted by: john frum 2008-04-24 |
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