Posted on 08/23/2006 5:21:59 AM PDT by standingfirm
24 minutes ago
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - Dutch F-16s escorted a Northwest Airlines flight bound for India back to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport on Wednesday, and authorities detained several passengers for questioning, an airport spokeswoman said.
The pilot of the aircraft radioed Schiphol for permission to return and a military escort as it was flying over Germany shortly after leaving Amsterdam, said spokeswoman Pamela Kuypers.
Rick Hirs, a spokesman for the customs police at Schiphol, said it was not clear why the plane had returned. "We don't know yet. We are interviewing passengers and crew members," he said.
Hirs said nobody on the plane had been arrested, and there were no injuries.
The Dutch National Terrorism Coordinator's Office had been informed of the incident but said there was no cause to raise the national threat level, said spokeswoman Judith Sluiter.
"It is the same as it was before — light threat," said Sluiter.
It was not immediately clear how many passengers were on board the plane, but a Northwest DC-10 has a seating capacity of 273, and Kuypers said the plane was full "as far as I know."
Kuypers said the aircraft parked at the gate when it returned to allow all other passengers to disembark.
Last year, a British Airways flight returned to Schiphol in similar circumstances, but it turned out to be a false alarm.
Maybe throwing off some passenger who refused to pay 2 bucks for a bag of pretzles?
On Fox now. Flight has been canceled for today. It originated in Minneapolis.
> On Fox now.
Someone on the plane must have confessed to killing Jon Benet Ramsey.
Somebody got in dutch.
Did the FNC announcer apologyze for interrupting the meaningless Karr coverage to bring real news?
Heheh. But maybe they found some islamofascists on that flight to India who are Pakistinian.
There were 12 middle eastern men on the flight. 11 got up from their seats and handed their cell phones to one guy. That's when 2 air marshalls intervened and the airplane was routed back to Amsterdam.
This story should be moved to breaking.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006 (Mumbai ):
A Mumbai bound Northwest Airlines plane had to be escorted by two Dutch fighter planes back to Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.
A Dutch Air Traffic Control spokesperson said the plane was in German airspace when it turned back.
Dutch news agencies say there were suspicious people on board the plane who were taken off at Schiphol and taken for questioning.
Security has been increased at airports worldwide after British police foiled a plot to blow up planes in the mid-Atlantic using liquid explosives disguised as drinks.
> Did the FNC announcer apologyze for interrupting the meaningless Karr coverage to bring real news?
Was Jorhan van der Sloot on that plane? Enquiring minds want to know?
Perhaps OJ decided he needed to get off the plane as he spotted the real killer down below.
Wonder if anyone is going t pick up on it.
bump for publicity
If that was the case they would have been bumped up to first class.
Yeah, that would kinda make me nervous, too. Probably just a muslim cultural thing, though ... like praying toward Mecca, pedophilia, and slitting the throats of innocent hostages.
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