Dick Cheney's Plane Diverted for Unspecified Reason

[sws4420]

Breaking news, more to come...

[sws4420]

Cheney’s plane diverted to Singapore

The plane carrying U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney from Australia to the United States was diverted to Singapore on Sunday because of unspecified problems, Australian Prime Minister John Howard said.

"I am not aware of the full circumstances and I have not been told except that it has been diverted," Howard told reporters in Sydney.

"As to the precise circumstances I'm not as yet advised," he said.

Australian media including Sky Television and Australian Associated Press reported that the plane had experienced unspecified mechanical problems.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. consulate in Sydney said she was not aware of the circumstances or of Cheney's proposed route and referred further questions to the White House.

The United States embassy in Singapore said it was not aware of any problems with Cheney's plane or of his planned route.

Cheney's plane left Sydney's international airport at about 9 a.m. to return to the United States.

Cheney was in Sydney as part of a trip to thank Washington's Iraq war allies Japan and Australia and to reassure them that President Bush's plans to inject 21,500 more troops would help quell violence.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17321413/

[MedicCook]

White House: Cheney plane fine after minor problem

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Vice President Dick Cheney's plane had a small mechanical problem on Sunday, but there were no safety concerns and it was to make a planned refueling stop in Singapore, the White House said.

White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore said there was a problem with a generator on the plane, which left Sydney's international airport about 9 a.m. on Sunday (5 p.m. EST Saturday), but it posed no safety issues and the aircraft was fine.

A flight from Sydney to Singapore takes about seven hours.

Cheney had been visiting Australia as part of a trip to thank Washington's Iraq war allies Japan and Australia.

He was returning to the United States on Sunday. The refueling stop in Singapore was already scheduled, the White House said.

"Nobody is scheduled to get off the plane. Nobody is scheduled to get on the plane," a source in Singapore, who declined to be identified, told Reuters.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard earlier told reporters in Sydney: "I am not aware of the full circumstances and I have not been told except that it has been diverted."

A Reuters photographer at Sydney airport said Air Force 2 had proceeded towards the runway as normal and revved its engines before the engines appeared to decelerate.

A mobile stairway was sent out to the plane but a door in the plane opened and an unidentified figure appeared in the hatchway and waved the stairway off, the Reuters photographer said.

The door was then closed and the plane proceeded to the runway and took off.

Cheney arrived in Sydney late on Thursday. Anti-war protesters who accuse him of being one of the main architects of the unpopular Iraq war scuffled briefly with police on Thursday and Friday.

A total of 11 people were arrested but his visit was otherwise uneventful.

Cheney's health has also been a concern in the past, with the vice president having a history of heart trouble.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/02/24/cheney.plane.reut/index.html

[BigD]

They probably snuck a young boy on the plane for Cheney...

[sws4420]

I figured he was having a grabber.