Merkel’s flight forced to land in Cologne/Bonn instead of Buenos Aires How serious was the situation on board the government plane?

Cologne · A defect has paralyzed the communication system of the Chancellor's government machine. Angela Merkel speaks of a "serious disturbance", the Ministry of Defense of "emergency landing". This is how serious the situation on board really was.

A defect has paralyzed the communication system of the Chancellor's government machine. Angela Merkel speaks of a "serious disturbance", the Ministry of Defense of "emergency landing". This is how serious the situation on board really was. Ursula von der Leyen's Ministry of Defense (CDU) has not yet been aware of the source of this kind of error. This damage occurred for the first time, the spokesperson Jens Flosdorff emphasised after the spectacular breakdown of the veteran government air force plane "Konrad Adenauer".

The incident is so unprecedented that the air captain is said to be speaking of an unimaginable collapse of communications technology and security, and government circles are saying that suspicions of a criminal background are being investigated. However, the Air Force and the Ministry quickly explain that there is no evidence to support this assumption. They found themselves in an awkward situation, as the Federal Chancellor, the Vice-Chancellor, spokespersons, advisers and journalists were all aboard the plane. The destination is the G20 summit in Argentina.

But the flight will only reach Holland. While US President Donald Trump is already tweeting his arrival in Buenos Aires, Merkel is still on German soil. She had arranged to meet him on Friday afternoon on the fringes of the summit. Merkel and Scholz do not have to wait long for the mockery. The SPD man receives questions as to whether it would be possible to help out with government machines of other nations. But they can't. The two set off for Madrid to fly from there to South America. On scheduled flights. Germany's big economy looks embarrassed.

Cause of fault unclear

Merkel’s flight was stopped by a small defective component deep inside the Airbus 340, which connects two communication systems and is also responsible for the system for dumping kerosene in an emergency. But despite regular maintenance of the aircraft to the highest safety standards, as Flosdorff says, the small particle is on strike. With great effect. How this can happen remains unclear. In any case, it paralyses communication with the ground shortly after take off in Berlin. There are still 14 flight hours to go, the plane is approaching the Atlantic.

Passengers are asked to sit down and fasten their seat belts via loudspeakers. But because the Chancellor is currently in a meeting room informing journalists about the goals of the German government at the G20 summit, things are still quite relaxed. At some point Merkel puts on her seat belt after being asked to do so again, but before the Vice Chancellor can do the same as the head of government, a flight attendant comes in with a tense expression on her face and asks Merkel out. Nobody can remember whether something like this ever happened before.

It is immediately clear to everyone that something must have happened. Merkel’s husband, Joachim Sauer, the publicity-shy quantum chemist, sits in the neighbouring room. In his wife's long career, he has rarely flown with her. In 2017 he hosted the G20 summit in Hamburg with Merkel and led the partner program. There will be a reunion in Buenos Aires. But that won’t happen.

Ground contact only via satellite telephone

The pilot decides to turn back because he can only maintain contact with the ground via satellite telephone. He does not yet know that he cannot drain kerosene because the valve does not open. So he has to land with the whole dangerous cargo. That means high thrust. He doesn't fly to nearby Amsterdam, but to Cologne because he needs a longer run-up for the descent, they say. The plane is landing hard, the pilot brakes as hard as possible, the fire brigade is waiting at the ready. It is checked whether the brakes are burning or whether there is any other damage.

Nobody is allowed to leave the plane for a long 70 minutes. Not even Merkel. Safety measure. Flosdorff speaks of an "emergency landing", Merkel of a "serious disruption". But a government spokeswoman later asserts: "At no time was there any danger to the life and limb of the passengers on board the plane." Perhaps because it all seems a bit peculiar, says Flosdorff, the defect has resulted in a "higher abstract danger“. The majority of the delegation goes home again, because there are not enough seats available on scheduled flights at such short notice.

Joachim Sauer also does not fly any further. The partner program is as good as over if he had arrived there that late. But his wife at least wants to take part in the evening round of the summit and try to catch up with the meetings planned for the day with Trump, China's head of state Xi Jinping and the Argentine president Mauricio Macri. Merkel is attributed a key role in mediating in the Ukrainian conflict. On Saturday she will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Scholz praises the captain of the machine

"Fortunately," Merkel says, "the pilot was the most experienced captain of the flight crew.“ When she talks like that, the situation must have been dramatic. Normally she plays down crises first. Scholz makes a similar statement. It is said that this experienced and outstanding captain was „wrecked" shortly after landing. There were moments during which it had not been clear whether the landing gear would work. It was thanks to him that no misfortune had happened.

The Chancellor is said to have called von der Leyen directly. According to government sources, after such an incident, investigations are always carried out in "all directions". Monstrous questions are in the air. Who could have manipulated the plane, when, where and how? Is there a connection with the latest hacker attacks against the Bundeswehr, embassies and members of the Bundestag? Flosdorff denied it. Was there a "higher abstract danger" that Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor would crash with their delegation? Some reactions in delegation circles a few hours after the landing were as follows: "That was close.“ Original text: Kristina Dunz Translation: Mareike Graepel

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