Plane Bound For India; Passengers Held For Questioning

ANN REALTIME UPDATE 08.23.06 1330 EDT: A few more details are now available regarding Wednesday's escort of a Northwest Airlines DC-10 flying from Amsterdam to Mumbai. The airliner returned to Schiphol Airport after its pilot reported problems aboard the airliner... and a request for a fighter escort.

What led the pilot of Northwest Flight 42 to make such a request has not been released publicly as yet... but we do know an untold number of passengers onboard the plane led to the diversion, and 12 people are now in custody.

The plane "returned when a couple of passengers displayed behavior of concern," said Northwest spokesman Kurt Ebenhoch. The flight was cancelled for the day.

Despite the obvious implications behind that statement, those familiar with airline operations said it is important not to rush to judgement -- especially as several airliners have been similarly rerouted out of concerns brought about by the August 10 announcement of an alleged terror plot being uncovered in Britain.

"It is too premature to draw any conclusions about terrorist involvement," said Judith Sluiter, spokeswoman for the Hague-based National Anti-Terrorism Coordinator, to Bloomberg. The country's interior affair department stated there is also no need to raise the country' current threat level after the incident.

Original Report

No word yet on what led the pilot of a Northwest Airlines DC-10 bound for India to turn back to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport Wednesday, escorted by Dutch F-16s.

Newsday reports the pilot contacted Schiphol for permission to return to the airport as the aircraft flew over Germany -- and requested the military escort, as well, according to airport spokeswoman Pamela Kuypers.

Several passengers were detained for questioning after the plane landed, Kuypers added -- information confirmed by a spokesman for customs at Schiphol.

"We don't know yet [why the aircraft turned around]," Rick Hirs told reporters. "We are interviewing passengers and crew members."

Stay tuned to ANN as we follow this developing story.

FMI: www.nwa.com