French fighter planes forced down an Israeli civilian aircraft overflying a “restricted” area near Lyons today but the plane and its crew were later released. Neither the French nor the Israeli governments plan to make an international incident of the episode. The Israeli Embassy did not lodge a protest and the French Foreign Ministry is expected to make an apology, it was learned.
The plane, an Israel-made “Arava” transport, was enroute to an international air show at Hanover, West Germany. Forced off course by bad weather, the plane accidentally entered a “strategic zone” where most of France’s nuclear missile launching sites are located. Unauthorized aircraft entering the zone are forced down as a matter of “normal routine” for which no special orders are needed, sources here said.
The plane’s camera was confiscated and the film in it developed. When no unauthorized material was found the camera was returned. The plane is due to resume its flight to Germany tomorrow. French official sources confirmed the incident but refused to give any additional details.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
