Controllers: We Didn't Know It Was In Trouble

US air traffic controllers denied permission for an Air Transat Airbus A310 to land in Florida after the plane literally lost its rudder on a flight from Cuba to Canada Saturday, according to Canadian news reports. The American controllers said they never knew the flight, with 270 people on board, was in trouble.

Pictures of the Canadian aircraft obtained by ANN show just how much trouble it was in. These photos, taken by the Canadian government, show the rudder completely sheared away at the hinges.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation quotes passengers on the flight who say the captain informed them he had been denied permission to land in the US shortly after the rudder seperated from the vertical stabilizer.

However, a statement by the FAA said the Canadian charter captain never informed US controllers that he had a serious in-flight emergency on his hands. If that had been the case, officials said, he never would have been denied permission to land.

But Air Transat tells a different story. The airline issued a statement Monday saying, "It is untrue that American authorities were opposed to allowing the plane to land on their territory."

The statement, carried by the CBC, said the decision "was made by the captain, together with the operational control center, because the company has access to maintenance staff at [Varadero]."

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.airtransat.com