'Atlas Air' cargo plane continues to be detained at Mumbai

Mumbai, Aug 1 (UNI) The cargo plane, belonging to US-based Atlas Air, continues to be detained at the Chhatrapti Shivaji international airport here after it was forced to land.

The Boeing 747-200 was detained yesterday morning following its illegal entry into Indian air space after having filed ''dubious'' Air Operations Routine (AOR) about its itinerary.

Atlas Air is a known cargo airline, which regularly flies to Indian airports.

According to an airport official, the cargo plane continues to be detained at the airport and will leave after clearance from the Indian Air Force (IAF), which had ordered the cargo plane to land.

The plane, which took off from Nairobi and was bound for Hong Kong, was carrying no cargo. The plane's identity code was GTI-8106, but the pilot filed its flight AOR as a US Air Force plane.

Therefore, the IAF South Western Air Command (SWAC) denied it the permission to fly within Indian air space enroute. The IAF personnel had already questioned the four-member crew and would decide about the plane's departure later, he added.

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