Iran landing of plane with Americans just aviation matter, U.S. says

A FlyDubai charter plane flying from Bagram air base in Afghanistan to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with more than 100 American citizens on board landed in Iran on Friday “because of a bureaucratic issue,” according to U.S. officials.

A report from the Washington Post initially said the plane was forced down by Iranian fighter jets, but the State Department said that was not true. Iran and the United States do not have formal diplomatic relations, so the prospect of a plane taking off from an American base and being compelled to land in Iran sparked a flurry of questions.

A FlyDubai spokesma confirmed the diversion and said in a statement that the flight had continued and landed in Dubai.

“The cause for the diversion is being examined,” the statement said.

A U.S. official told the Los Angeles Times that the incident was caused by confusion over whether the plane’s flight plan was still valid after its takeoff from Afghanistan was delayed. He said it was a civil aviation matter, not a military one.

Many of the citizens on board were contractors for the International Security Assistance Force, the U.S.-led military coalition in Afghanistan, the U.S. official said.

Times staff writer William J. Hennigan contributed to this report.

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