An American civilian aircraft, overflying Indian airspace without necessary permission, was grounded on Monday night at the Mumbai airport, 1,400 kilometers southwest of New Delhi, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.
Airport director Sunil Kumar told PTI that the Boeing-757 aircraft, registered in the United States, was flying from Karachi, Pakistan, to Male, Maldives, when it was forced to land.
Civil Aviation Minister Shanawaz Hussain told the media here that the plane did not have "air defense clearance."
The pilot and co-pilot were being interrogated by the Indian authorities, Kumar said.
The incident came two days after an American plane belonging to the US Air Force flew 150 nautical miles east of India's southeastern city of Chennai last Friday without responding to India's radio signals.
(Xinhua News Agency February 4, 2003)
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