Brangelina chopper landing being probed

Oct 28, 2006, 11:12 GMT

Jodhpur, Oct 28 (IANS) Authorities here have begun a probe into how a helicopter carrying Hollywood star couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt landed at a hotel here last week without prior permission.

'We have sought complete information on the landing of the helicopter at the Umaid Bhawan Palace hotel from the Air Traffic Control in Jodhpur,' city magistrate B.R. Delu told IANS here Saturday.

On Oct 20, a chopper carrying Pitt and Jolie landed on the lawns of the Umaid Bhawan Palace Hotel without seeking permission of the airport authorities and local administration - a mandatory requirement for landing a helicopter in a civil area.

The visit of the Hollywood star couple to Rajasthan had been kept a closely guarded secret. The local administration still maintains that they had no prior information in the matter.

'We only got the information through media reports and now we have started collecting information on it,' Delu said.

The Air Traffic Control is also silent on the matter. As per rules in such cases, a case is either registered against the firm providing the helicopter or against the pilot.

However, it is still unclear whether Jolie and Pitt would be penalised for the illegal landing.

The administration is busy looking into the legal aspects of the case, informed sources said.

The couple has been in India in connection with their new movie 'A Mighty Heart', a film on Wall Street Journal journalist Daniel Pearl who was abducted and slain by terrorists in Pakistan in 2002.

It has been visiting various locations in the country. Several scenes of the movie have been shot in Jaipur.

The couple left Jaipur on Oct 20 and headed for Jodhpur, landing on Jodhpur's Umaid Palace in their helicopter.

They stayed in Jodhpur for two days and left for Pune last Sunday.

In Jodhpur, Jolie and Pitt were on a buying spree. They purchased jewellery from a Jodhpur-based gems and jewellery showroom.

© 2006 Indo-Asian News Service