Atlas plane forced to land in Mumbai over call sign confusion

[finfly1]

The Indo-Asian news service has following headline:

New Delhi, July 31 (IANS) An American Boeing-747 masquerading as a US Air Force (USAF) plane has been detained at the Mumbai airport and authorities are verifying its antecedents, officials here said Monday.

[Airbubba]

Sounds like an Atlas Air military charter operating with a 'Reach' callsign:

US aircraft detained in Mumbai

[ 31 Jul, 2006 2230hrs ISTIANS ]

NEW DELHI: An American Boeing-747 masquerading as a US Air Force (USAF) plane has been detained at the Mumbai airport and authorities are verifying its antecedents, officials here said on Monday.

The aircraft, which was bound for Hong Kong from Nairobi, "is still at Mumbai and is yet to file its further flight plan," an Indian Air Force (IAF) spokesman here said.

The first indication that something was amiss came at 10.05 pm on Sunday when the Mumbai Movement Liaison Unit (MLU) of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) called the IAF to confirm clearance for a USAF Boeing-747 that was to enter Indian airspace at 00.47 am on Monday.

"As there was no air operations routine (AOR) available for this aircraft or any other military aircraft flying this route from July 27 to Aug 1, MLU was advised to inform the aircraft through the Mumbai Flight Information Centre (FIC) that it was not permitted to enter Indian airspace," the spokesman said.

At 11 pm, the Mumbai MLU called to inform that the aircraft was now coming as a civil registered aircraft operated by Atlas Air and had obtained the DGCA clearance.

"At 00.55 am, the duty officer at (the Gandhinagar-based) South Western Air Command called to inform that he was refusing clearance to this aircraft due to the suspicious change in aircraft particulars from military to civil," the spokesman said.

"At 2.10 am, he informed that the aircraft was being asked to land at Mumbai to verify its antecedents. He was then advised to keep the Operations Room informed on the status of the aircraft after it landed.

"The aircraft landed at 3.03 am and was checked by a duty officer of the Mumbai MLU who confirmed that it was a civil registered aircraft and the pilot had stated that there was a mix-up by the Nairobi Air Traffic Control (ATC) in forwarding the aircraft particulars," the spokesman added.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1833003.cms

After the appropriate baksheesh is paid, the aircraft will be on its way...

[finfly1]

Thanks for the additional info.

[suppie]

It concerned N512MC from Atlas

[Engineer]

Incident over watched it push back yesterday 1 Aug :ok:

[Taildragger67]

An American Boeing-747 masquerading as a US Air Force (USAF) plane...

Interesting use of language!

"Quick, put this hat and glasses on and pretend you're a B-2... "

Would've thought a Jumbo is a tad hard to hide

(then again, that 727 went AWOL in Africa a year or two back!)

[Mercenary Pilot]

An American Boeing-747 masquerading as a US Air Force (USAF) plane..
Maybe the call sign "Air-Force-One" gave it away ;)

[Taikonaut]

An American Boeing-747 masquerading as a US Air Force (USAF) plane...
Interesting use of language!


This is just media fluff guys.

US cargo carriers, Atlas, Kalitta, Polar, Evergreen etc., under military contract, will often fly under military call signs, i.e. "Reach XXX". This is normal and usually done with B747F.

This may be confusing for some ATC if the A/C flew in as "Reach" and depart as civil or vice versa. The flight plans and hand offs sometimes get all mixed up and so on.

On an interesting note, all flight crew flying for USAF AMC (Air Mobility Command) charters are US citizens carrying Geneva Convention cards with equivilent military ranks. Just in case.:ok:

[JW411]

This is a typical Indian sub-continent non-story.

Add to that the possibility of possible inaccuracies inadvertently added from a "westerly direction".

When I flew DC-10s in the USA we did a lot of military flights. Now not many people realise how much diplomatic clearance is involved in a military flight. It all takes a lot of sorting out and sometimes it can happen that you have to change callsigns at the FIR boundary to meet the requirements.

For example, when I was in the RAF based in the Middle East and we wanted to ferry an aircraft back to UK for maintenance we needed diplomatic clearance across Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

As far as I can remember the Iraq clearance was for 48 hours BUT you had to enter and exit within + or - 2 hours of schedule.

Syria was for a period of 48 hours with time limits and Lebanon was that day only.

So, if you took more than a 2 hour delay out of Bahrain then you couldn't meet the Iraqi requirement. So you then had to wait 24 hours to meet that requirement while the Embassy had to refile the Syrian requirement etc etc etc etc.

So why am I not astonished to hear that Bombay ATC can turn "Send reinforcements we are going to advance" into "Send Three and Four Pence we're going to a dance"!

How many of you out there remember having to get 15 signatures on your flight plan?

[Fox3snapshot]

Common problem we deal with on a daily basis in the ME. The dips get messed up often and if they don't add up from FIR to FIR, then there is no compromise....NO DIP NO TRIP! :=

In the peak of hostilities we even sent buffs back to DG as they were using the wrong callsign for the timeslot or day, and at that point an excursion via the straits of H was not an option, so back they went bombs and all!

Ahh the joys of our 'South West Asia Location'........

:rolleyes:

[ceedee]

But *what* was it, that the US MAC needed shifting in an Atlas Air 747F from Nairobi to Hong Kong?

:ugh:

[xaf2fe]

A lot of AMC trips are one way, with no return cargo. In this case the airplane is ferried from the end of it's AMC trip in Nairobi to it's next operating trip for Atlas in Hong Kong. AMC picks up part of the cost for the ferry flight.

[742]

But *what* was it, that the US MAC needed shifting in an Atlas Air 747F from Nairobi to Hong Kong?

:ugh:

The airplane was empty.

[5Y744]

On an interesting note, all flight crew flying for USAF AMC (Air Mobility Command) charters are US citizens carrying Geneva Convention cards with equivilent military ranks. Just in case.:ok:

Rubbish...........

[av8boy]

Agree with 5Y744. Nonsense.

[Tex]

5Y744 is correct.

There are a lot of Ruskies, Ukranians and Romanians in theater using the Reach callsign, flying AN-24's and IL-76's under contract with USAF.

[jettison valve]

Having worked at BOM for most of the last twelve months, I just imagine the following scene:

- The first time the Atlas crew realized that the indian controller (probably forced by his supervisor at that time) has ordered them to land at BOM, with the following radio traffic ("No, we want to go to HK!" - "No, in the name of Praful Patel, you MUST land at Bombay, ahm, Mumbai!"....)
- Descend from a FL probably > 400
- Landing in monsoon during night, shut down of the airplane on a remote stand
- Many indian officials in their brown uniform with all their weapons planted on the ground around the airplane
- Negotiations start with thousands of forms, letters and - stamps!!!

Welcome to India! ;)
J. V.

[JW411]

5Y744:

"Rubbish".

Well, when I was flying military charters in the USA I carried a DoD ID card proclaiming that I was a Field Officer Grade IV. I was told that this was Lt Col equivalent which was better than I achieved in the RAF!

Mind you, I was a Brit working for the USA if you think that is important.

[matkat]

This is just media fluff guys.
US cargo carriers, Atlas, Kalitta, Polar, Evergreen etc., under military contract, will often fly under military call signs, i.e. "Reach XXX". This is normal and usually done with B747F.
This may be confusing for some ATC if the A/C flew in as "Reach" and depart as civil or vice versa. The flight plans and hand offs sometimes get all mixed up and so on.
On an interesting note, all flight crew flying for USAF AMC (Air Mobility Command) charters are US citizens carrying Geneva Convention cards with equivilent military ranks. Just in case.:ok:
Have to take Your word regarding the flight crew but in My previous life as a flight mechanic with American Trans air, Southern and Polar I had no such paperwork also I am (and several other Collegues) a Brit, were We being left out to dry?????

[Airbubba]

Well, years ago I was issued a DD Form 489, Geneva Conventions ID card, in preparation for a Civil Reserve Air Fleet operation that never took place.

Seems like it did show a military officer rank (O-3, maybe?). I flew in the military, not sure what it would have shown if I had a civilian background. I'm pretty sure we had to turn it back in along with the maroon passports when the operation was cancelled.

[JW411]

Right then, I am a great one for photcopying every important document that I have ever had just in case I lose something and need to replace it.

This is what it said on the back of my DoD card:

"Notice: The person whose signature, photograph and fingerprints appear hereon is a person accompanying the armed forces of the United States, but not part of them. The card must be carried at all times by the person to whom it is issued. If taken prisoner he shall at once show this card to the detaining authority to assist in his identification. He is entitled to be given the same treatment, and afforded the same privileges as a member of the armed forces in the rank category shown".

[5Y744]

REGISTERED MAIL and/or SIGNATURE SERVICE SHIPMENTS:
• Explanations/definitions:
Chain of Custody: a method of tracking the identity of each individual having control of an
item from its point of origin, through a shipping or distribution system to its intended recipient.
Registered Mail (Reg Mail): exactly what it says, mail accepted by the US Postal Service
(USPS) as Registered Mail. Usually official military items, but it is handled exactly the same as
civil mail. Each box receives a ‘Registered Mail’ sticker and is assigned a number. Smaller
items, like envelopes, are placed in orange colored mail pouches and are closed with a ‘Box
Car’ seal. These seals are embossed with a number. The associated numbers are individually
recorded on a manifest for a destination. When this type of mail leaves the control of the USPS
system, they require a chain of custody for it until it is returned to their control.
Signature Service (Sig Service): This procedure is used to track certain sensitive cargo shipments
in the military cargo system. These items require a chain of custody from the shipper all
the way to the receiver. Each item receives a tracking number called a Transportation Control
Number (TCN). Each shipment is manifested separately by destination listing the TCN(s) and
appropriate numbers of pieces in each shipment. Each box in a shipment has a label with the
TCN on it.

-The contract with AMC requires us to accept these shipments.
-********* employees become part of the chain of custody.
-All individuals involved are required to be US citizens.
• All Reg Mail documents absolutely require signature by a US citizen. Period.
• There are a few, very limited cases where non-US Passport holders can accept / sign
for Sig Service shipments.
• All non-US citizen crewmembers MUST identify themselves as such if asked to sign for
these shipments. It will then be determined by the military personnel whether it is
acceptable for the process to continue.
• Most shipments REQUIRE signature of a US citizen and any other situation can involve
fines and possible criminal penalties. It is the best personal interest of our non-US
passport holders to read and heed this section.
-Crewmembers will be required to sign for these shipments when no other US citizen is on
board in a duty status.
-Penalties may exist for ********* in cases where the chain of custody is broken, comprimised,
or is otherwise not traceable.
-In cases of damage to or loss / compromise of a shipment, personal liabilities may exist for
those persons in the chain of custody.
• Procedures for handling either type of cargo:
NOTE: the USAF individuals involved in presenting and receiving either type of cargo are from
an office called Special Handling. This term does not cross all military branches. Army, Navy,
and Marine Corp personnel use different terminology, but the idea is the same. They only process
this type of cargo.
• As close as possible to closing the aircraft doors, an individual from the military will present
the items along with their manifest.
• The individual accepting the shipment will inspect the items:
-Verify each Registered Mail number or TCN listed on the manifest is physically present.
-Verify that no damage is apparent.
-Sign one copy of the manifest and return it to the individual presenting the shipment.
Expect to also be asked to print your name and company.
-Insure the cargo is properly secured.
-Retain the remaining copies of the manifest to destination.

[742]

5Y744

You might want to think if that is something that should be published on the Internet. Quickly.

And just what is the point?

For the record, Atlas employs a number of pilots from the EU, both through AACS and some at mainline. They are not restricted from any particular flights, and I didn’t think that anyone cared.

[Taikonaut]

Don't know about you guys but here at Brand "X", only US citizens can fly the AMC flights and I do have my DD Form 489-1 Jul 74 in my wallet.

With the equivilent rank of "Field Grade", I know I won't be doing any latrine or kitchen duty.

This is my understanding of the breakdown but don't quote me on it:

Captain - Field Grade
F/O - Officer IV
F/E - Company Grade

Besides, it's great for getting on base for some cheap beer.

I don't write the rules and I don't make the rules but I know what I have...

Cheers :}

[av8boy]

Personally, I was agreeing with "rubbish" because of the word "all..."

On an interesting note, all flight crew flying for USAF AMC (Air Mobility Command) charters are US citizens carrying Geneva Convention cards with equivilent military ranks.

That IS rubbish.

[JW411]

Taikonaut:

My Form 489 showed Fld Grd Off IV and I was employed as a captain.

[TriStar_drvr]

Don't know about you guys but here at Brand "X", only US citizens can fly the AMC flights and I do have my DD Form 489-1 Jul 74 in my wallet.

With the equivilent rank of "Field Grade", I know I won't be doing any latrine or kitchen duty.

This is my understanding of the breakdown but don't quote me on it:

Captain - Field Grade
F/O - Officer IV
F/E - Company Grade

Besides, it's great for getting on base for some cheap beer.

I don't write the rules and I don't make the rules but I know what I have...

Cheers :}

I'm a First Officer and my "rank" is listed as O-3 / Company Grade. I better not let the Engineer know that I don't "outrank" him. :rolleyes:

[CargoMatatu]

As a Loadmaster (NON U.S. Citizen, by the way!!!) my DOD card says "NON COM II".

I suppose that means that when our Capt. orders the latrines to be done I, as a non-com, then have to pass the order to the flying spanner:} :ok: