Cracked windscreen grounds German govt plane in Niger

A senior German defence delegation had to take a commercial flight home from Niger in West Africa on Saturday after cracks appeared in the windscreen of their government aircraft, reported dpa.

Following a visit to troops in Mali and Niger, the parliamentary state secretary in the Defence Ministry, Siemtje Möller, and her party had been due to fly back to Berlin on Friday when the problem was detected in their 17-seater Global 6000 plane.

A German air force spokesman said a team of technicians would be sent to Niger as soon as possible to repair the damage, which was first reported by Spiegel magazine.

Technicians suspected that excessive heat caused the cracks, with the temperature in Niger's capital Niamey currently at around 40 degrees Celcius in the shade.