US-chartered plane carrying munitions to Afghanistan forced to land in India

MUMBAI, India — Indian air traffic controllers ordered a cargo plane chartered by the U.S. government and carrying munitions to Afghanistan to land at Mumbai airport after it violated Indian airspace, officials said Saturday.

A U.S. Embassy spokesman in New Delhi said the aircraft was a private carrier under American government contract. He would not comment on the origin, destination or payload of the aircraft.

The Russian AN-124 aircraft did not have permission to fly over Indian airspace, and air traffic controllers asked the plane to land at Mumbai's international airport late Friday, Indian air force spokesman Wing Commander T.K. Singha said.

Airport spokesman Manish Kargodgi said the aircraft was flying from Diego Garcia island, a U.S. military base near Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, to Kandahar in Afghanistan, and was loaded with arms and ammunition.

He said the Indian air force detained five American crew members for questioning, and that the plane was scheduled for departure at 10 p.m.

The Press Trust of India reported that the plane had been grounded because of confusion over call signs.