By IPS Correspondents
NEW DELHI, Feb 4 2003 (IPS)

Indian Air Force fighter jets forced a United States airplane to land in the western city of Bombay after it strayed from its flight path, a report said Tuesday.

The Indian ‘Express’ newspaper quoted Civil Aviation Minister Shahnawaz Hussain as saying the Boeing 757 was forced to land in Bombay Monday because it did not have clearance for the flight path it took.

The 11 people aboard the plane, belonging to the US-based Conco Corporation, were taken into custody for interrogation, civil aviation officials said.

Officials said the plane was flying from Karachi, Pakistan to Male in the Maldives when it veered off course and headed for Jamnagar area in the western state of Gujarat, home to several Indian defense and security installations.

This is the second intrusion by a US plane into Indian aerospace in the past week. On Friday, a US plane flew 150 nautical miles east of the southern city of Madras without identifying itself.

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