Free Republic

A passenger plane bound for Djibouti was forced to make an emergency landing today, minutes after taking off from Mogadishu, due to a hole opening up in the plane after an apparent explosion, according to aviation experts. On its Facebook page, Daallo Airlines, the national airline of Somalia, said in a statement that an Airbus 321 had "experienced an incident shortly after takeoff" from the airport in Mogadishu, Somalia.

A plane carrying Americans was forced to land in Iran by the Iranian Air Force. It was allowed to leave early Saturday. It isn't known if all are still aboard. Link only.(Excerpt) "A charter airplane carrying military contractors, including Americans, took off early Saturday from Iran, hours after its pilots were ordered to land because the flight plan was out of date, a U.S. State Department spokeswoman said."

US WARPLANE FORCED TO LAND IN IRAN.

WASHINGTON, March 7 — The North Korean fighter jets that intercepted an unarmed American spy plane over the Sea of Japan last weekend were trying to force the aircraft to land in North Korea and take its crew hostage, a senior defense official said today. One of the four North Korean MIG's came within 50 feet of the American plane, an Air Force RC-135S Cobra Ball aircraft, and the pilot made internationally recognized hand signals to the American flight crew to follow him, presumably back to his home base, the official said. The American crew members ignored the gesture commands,...