German chancellor Angela Merkel will not be able to attend the opening of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her government plane was forced to return due to a technical defect on Thursday and is currently blocked in Cologne. The chancellor would fly to Argentina on Friday by regular commercial airliner.

A flight with a replacement aircraft was not possible on Thursday evening, confirmed government spokesman Steffen Seibert, because no crew were available anymore.

Merkel, who is accompanied by German Minister of Finance Olaf Scholz, spends the night in a hotel in Bonn. On Friday morning she travels to Madrid to fly from there to Buenos Aires.

According to her spokesperson, it will now be examined to what extent the meetings that Merkel had planned in Argentina can be moved.

The German government aircraft 'Konrad Adenauer', an Airbus A340-300, had to return over the Netherlands after one hour of flying. It landed safely in Cologne. It is not the first time that the plane has a defect. Both Minister of Finance Scholz at the IMF summit in Indonesia, and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on his Africa trip, suffered from technical problems.

According to the Rheinische Post, researchers are looking into sabotage. But according to the German Air Force, the incident has nothing to do with criminal activities.

--- D'Bridge 3.99 SR33
* Origin: AVIATION ECHO HQ (2:292/854)