"It is untrue that American authorities were opposed to allowing
the plane to land on their territory."
Source: A statement from Canadian charter company
Air Transat, denying its Airbus A310 was denied permission to land
in Florida by the FAA. Passengers aboard Flight 961, however, say
the captain announced he had been denied permission to land after
his rudder separated from the aircraft about 30 minutes into a
flight from Valadero, Cuba, to Quebec City, Canada. The aircraft
returned to Valadero, where all 270 were safely deplaned.