N610G
Air CIA the CIA's covert airline |
| The planes: The companies: The crews: |
N610G is an alleged CIA-linked aircraft. A list of movements of N226G, another plane owned by L-3 Capital and operated by Comco, is amongst the documents presented to the European inquiry on extraordinary rendition by UK NGO Statewatch.[1]
| Registration number: | N610G |
| Serial number: | 29304 |
| Manufacturer: | Boeing |
| Model: | 757-22L |
| Registered owner: | L-3 Capital LLC,[2] |
| Operator: | Comco[3] (previously Starflite and Raytheon)[4] |
| Previous reg numbers:: | N1018N[4] |
Contents
Mumbai Jumbo: the 2003 incident in India
N610G was the center of controversy in 2003 when it was forced to land at Mumbai in India after it was found overflying Indian airspace without permission. According to Indian news agency PTI:
- "The Air Traffic Control in Mumbai ordered the pilot of the aircraft, a Boeing 757 owned by the Conco [sic] Corporation and registration number N610G, to land at Sahar airport as it did not have 'air defence clearance', Civil Aviation Minister Shahnawaz Hussain told PTI in New Delhi. The plane was flying from Karachi in Pakistan to Male in the Maldives and landed in Mumbai at 1811 IST. Airport officials said the American-registered aircraft was taken to an isolated bay for investigation and pilot John Burg and the co-pilot questioned. In all, there were eleven crew members."[5]
Fortunately the crew of the aircraft had no difficulty obtaining consular support, as a senior U.S. diplomat rushed out to the airport to meet them:
- "United States Vice Consul General Michael Cole met the crew led by Captain John Burg even as the aircraft was towed away from the isolated bay to be parked at the international terminal, airport officials said."[6]
Hussain later blamed the entire incident on Pakistani air traffic control:
- "He said that India would complain to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) about Monday's incident in which the Pakistani ATC gave wrong directions to the US cargo plane. 'ICAO should probe the matter,' the minister said."[6]
According to Agence France Presse, Bombay airport director Sudhir Kumar "...denied reports that live ammunition was found on one of the crew members. 'No, I am unaware of such a development,' Kumar said."[7]
Is the plane's owner linked to L-3 Communications?
The name of the plane's owner, L-3 Capital LLC, is suggestively similar to L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. However, there is no evidence to conclusively link the two entities.
L-3 Capital does not appear on the list of divisions on L-3 Communications' website.[8] On the other hand, in FAA records, L-3 Communications Advanced Aviation LLC and L-3 Capital both give the same address in Helena, Montana: 33S Last Chance Gulch St.[9][2] That address appears to host several local law firms.[10]
L-3 Communications has its own CIA aviation links: it is the parent company of L-3 Crestview Aerospace,[11] which is very closely linked with CIA proprietary Tepper Aviation, Inc.[12]
Articles and resources
References
- ↑ "Documents submitted to the European Parliament Inquiry on the alleged use of European countries by the CIA for the transport and illegal detention of prisoners", Statewatch website. Undated, accessed July 16, 2007.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 FAA records for N610G. Undated, accessed July 16, 2007.
- ↑ Nik French (photographer), photo of N610G clearly showing Comco logo on its tail, jetphotos.net, June 17, 2007.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Boeing 757, MSN 29304, airfleets.net. Undated, accessed July 16, 2007.
- ↑ "US plane ordered to land in Mumbai", Press Trust of India (PTI) via rediff.com, February 03, 2003.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Pakistan ATC misguided US plane", Press Trust of India (PTI) via rediff.com, February 5, 2003.
- ↑ "Indian officials questioning US plane crew after forced landing", Agence France Presse, February 4, 2003. Available via Lexis-Nexis.
- ↑ List of divisions, L-3 Communications website. Undated, accessed July 16, 2007.
- ↑ FAA records for N440AN. Undated, accessed July 16, 2007.
- ↑ Lawyers of Helena, MT, LawProfession.org. Undated, accessed July 16, 2007.
- ↑ "Crestview Aerospace", L-3 Communications website. Undated, accessed July 16, 2007.
- ↑ Tepper Aviation, SourceWatch article.
Related SourceWatch articles
Other external resources
Photo searches
- All photos of N610G on the planepictures.net site. Undated, accessed July 16, 2007.
- All photos of N610G on the jetphotos.net site. Undated, accessed July 16, 2007.
- All photos of N610G on the airliners.net site. Undated, accessed July 16, 2007.
- All photos of N610G on the myaviation.net site. Undated, accessed July 16, 2007.
