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Canadian fighters shadow Air India plane
jaihoon
02/28/02 at 16:47:59
is this the next BIG thing? ???

[hr]
Canadian fighters shadow Air India plane
Suleman Din in New York

Canadian jet fighters are shadowing a New York-bound Air India jetliner over the Atlantic Ocean Thursday.

The action was taken after aviation authorities determined that Flight 101 to New York was carrying a suspicious passenger.

US fighters will take over the shadowing once the plane enters American airspace. The flight out of London, scheduled to arrive in New York at 1650 EDT, will be allowed to land at John F Kennedy International Airport.

FBI sources indicated that the agency's operatives are gathering at JFK airport, awaiting the arrival of the flight. "There is someone on that flight we want to interview," FBI spokesman Peter Margolin told rediff.com.

Margolin said he had no idea whether the rest of the passengers on board -- said to be 370 in total -- were aware of what is happening. "I have no indication from here," he said.

Meanwhile, bi-national air defense command North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) says they have launched aircraft to follow the flight in to New York, and are "monitoring the situation from the air."

NORAD spokesman Maj. Douglas Martin told rediff.com that he could not give away "operational information," at this time, because of the sensitivity of the situation.

"We're keeping our cards close to the chest here," he said.

Martin said he would not speculate whether shooting down the airliner in case of a real security risk is an option at this point.

"NORAD is in the air, and watching the situation closely," he said.

An Associated Press report meanwhile indicates that Federal Aviation Administration officials are in touch with the pilots of the flight in question. The pilots, who are in a reinforced cockpit, showed no sign of alarm, the agency quotes officials as saying.

Authorities indicated that the flight is shadowed from a distance and not escorted from close quarters, in order not to alarm the passengers.

Officials indicate that there is always the possibility that it could turn out to be a false alarm, but the authorities are in no mood to take chances and the FBI is acting with "an abundance of caution".

Air India's Deputy Regional Finance Manager (USA and Canada) Vinod Suri meanwhile told rediff.com that "everything on board is normal". The AI office is in touch with the flight crew, headed by pilot Captain D Mukherjee.

[rediff.com]
Re: Canadian fighters shadow Air India plane
ltcorpest2
02/28/02 at 18:40:58
last i heardd it was a baggage handler pissed at a passanger


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