Air Force Two: Lights went out

2007-02-25 12:11

Singapore - US vice-President Dick Cheney's plane suffered electrical problems before stopping in Singapore on Sunday but officials denied the halt was an emergency measure.

Air Force 2's landing at Paya Lebar Air Base en route from Sydney was a scheduled refuelling stop, they said, dismissing reports of a last-minute diversion.

"This was the pre-planned, scheduled refuelling stop. We were not diverted," said spokesperson Lea Anne McBride.

The problem was "an issue with the electrical system," she said. Asked whether the vice-president ever lost contact with the ground, she said: "The vice president always had communications."

A US official travelling with Cheney, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the problem was "a power surge" and "a call was made back to Sydney with the status".

Cheney on Sunday wrapped up a week-long visit to Japan and Australia. The US vice-president, who travels in a specially configured Boeing 757-200 airliner, left Sydney Airport at about 09:00 (22:00 GMT).

After his departure, Australian Prime Minister John Howard said he had heard reports of mechanical problems but had no details.

"I have had a report to that effect," he told reporters in Sydney. "I'm not aware of the full circumstances."

A spokesperson for the US consulate in Sydney said Cheney's plane had been scheduled to make a fuel stop in Singapore and was due to depart on time.

The White House also denied Air Force 2 had been diverted.

"The vice president's plane is fine and it is stopping for a regularly scheduled stop to refuel in Singapore," Emily Lawrimore, a White House spokesperson, told AFP.

"I think there was a small electrical problem but... it was not a safety concern," she said.

An AFP reporter on the plane said Air Force 2's reading lights, in-flight video and power outlets were not working and no hot meal was served, describing the problems as a minor inconvenience.

Cheney's four-day visit to Sydney, during which he met with Howard over military deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, was marred by anti-war protests and traffic chaos.

- SAPA