Algerian plane returns safely to Algiers after disappearing from radar

ALGIERS -- An Algerian flight on its way to Marseille in France on Saturday was forced to make U-turn in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea after enduring technical problem, local media reported.

The Boeing 737-600, belonging to the state-run Air Algerie, endured "technical problem after half an hour of taking-off from Algiers international airport," TSA news website quoted a spokeswoman for Air Algerie as saying.

"The plane was due to make U-turn, and it safely landed on the International Airport of Algiers, while all the passengers and the crew are safe and sound," the source said.

After half an hour of taking-off, the crew sent a distress message, and then the plane disappeared from control screens, according to several foreign media sources, citing radar data.

However, the Air Algerie spokeswoman denied reports that the flight had disappeared from radar screens, saying "the captain detected an anomaly, as he preferred to return to Algiers as a precaution."

Two years ago, an aircraft chartered by the Algerian state-run airline company from the Spanish Swift Air firm was flying from Burkina Faso to Algeria, but lost contact with radar 50 minutes after takeoff.

All of the 116 passengers who were aboard the crashed AH 5017 flight of Air Algerie in Mali were killed.