Pakistani plane forced to land in Indonesia

Pakistani plane forced to land in Indonesia

2011-03-08 03:10:58 GMT+7 (ICT)

MAKASSAR, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- A Pakistani plane on Monday was forced to land in Indonesia for flying without proper permission, the Jakarta Globe reported.

The charter plane was heading to Malaysia when it was forced to land at about 1:50 p.m. local time at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport in Makassar, South Sulawesi province, between Borneo and the Maluku Islands.

An Indonesian fighter jet forced the passenger plane to land after it entered Indonesian air space without authorization. The plane is owned by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

The PIA's Boeing 737-300 was carrying 54 people, 49 of them passengers who are Pakistani policemen serving in East Timor as part of the peacekeeping troops. The airline said the aircraft might have strayed off course due to bad weather.

The plane departed from Dili, East Timor and was heading to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was detected by the Makassar airport's radar at about noon and the crew did not communicate with the control tower.

Airport authorities contacted the local air force chief Agus Supriatna who ordered the deployment of a Sukhoi plane to contact the Boeing aircraft and force it to land at the South Sulawesi airport.

The plane flew over Indonesian air space without fulfilling three requirements: diplomatic clearance, security clearance and flight approval. The 54 individuals on board were questioned by airport authorities, and immigration and Indonesian Air Force officials.

"We have filed a report to the Malaysian Embassy, the Foreign Ministry and the Transportation Ministry to help the plane fulfill the clearances," said Agus.

Chief Agus added that the PIA plane is currently held at the airport and it would be allowed to leave after arranging the necessary documents.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-03-08