A Russian aircraft hired by the United States military was instructed by the Indian defense ministry to change its flight path mid-way and head for Mumbai airport while it was overflying India Friday evening, reported the local newspaper Times of India on Saturday.

The Antonov 124 had 18 Russians on board and was on its way from Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, where the United States has a base, to Kandahar in south Afghanistan, said the report quoting sources at the Mumbai airport.

A defense ministry public relations official confirmed the incident, but denied that any Indian Air Force fighter had escorted the aircraft.

When seeking permission from the defense ministry to fly over Indian airspace, the aircraft identified itself as a civil aircraft doing a charter operation. However, when applying to enter Pakistani airspace from India, it identified itself as a defense aircraft, said the report.

The ambiguous status of the aircraft forced the defense ministry to issue orders to divert it to Mumbai, said the report quoting unnamed sources.

Source: Xinhua