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BY : Associated Press
A French fighter jet intercepted a small German tourist plane that failed to respond to air traffic controllers Thursday, prompting the temporary closure of Paris' Orly airport, the Defense Ministry said.
The single-engine plane, with two people aboard, was forced to land at a military air base near Tours south of Paris, and the pilot was detained, a ministry statement said.
The plane took off Thursday morning from Bohmte, Germany, on the way to La Rochelle, western France. It later headed toward airspace above the Paris metropolitan area, which is restricted for flight.
"Absence of radio contact with the pilot and uncertainties about the flight path" prompted air traffic controllers to summon military help, the statement said.
Military and civil aviation officials ordered air traffic at Orly airport halted, while a Mirage 2000 from the French Air Force intercepted the plane and forced it to land in Tours, the statement said.
No other details were immediately available. |
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