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)