Mumbai: The Russian cargo plane, which breached Indian airspace on Friday night without proper authorisation, will be allowed to take off from Mumbai soon.
The AN 124 transport was forced to land on Friday night when the Air Force was unsure about the true identity of the aircraft as it was getting set to enter Pakistani airspace.
It turns out the plane has weaponry for US forces in Afghanistan. It will not be on its way.
The Russian AN124 cargo carrier, rented by Americans and carrying on board military hardware, is ready to leave after getting its paper work in order.
On Friday night, the plane was forced to land in Mumbai as it did not have the Indian Air Force's permission to fly through Indian airspace.
Sources told NDTV it took off from Diego Garcia, an American military base in the Indian Ocean, with 18 crew members. The destination was Kandahar in Afghanistan. En route, it entered Indian airspace, a path it had taken for the past 15 days.
Checking on its call sign, the ATC realised the plane - it was a military aircraft, travelling with just civilian clearance. Alarmed, the ATC called in security agencies including the Air Force. The plane was forced to land, and the American Embassy called in to clear matters.
Intelligence sources say the error was perhaps because of a procedural error.
Early on Saturday morning, the plane was shifted from the runaway to the parking bay in the cargo terminal. Sources say, after investigations were completed, the crew waited for several hours inside the aircraft for clearance from New Delhi.
Overnight, for investigating agencies, the big worry was if the aircraft deviated because of a navigational error, or more worryingly, was it a deliberate attempt to perhaps dump its military cargo in India? Well, neither seems to be the case.