ZUMPANGO, Mexico (AP) 鈥� An airplane carrying back to Brasilia landed safely on Tuesday at Mexico City鈥檚 Felipe Angeles airport after circling for hours due to a technical problem.
Brazil's air force confirmed the safe landing of the aircraft, an Airbus A319, at 7:16 p.m. local time after four hours circling the airport.
鈥淲e landed and everyone is well,鈥� Brazil's press secretary Jos茅 Chrispiniano told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
The aircraft had departed earlier in the afternoon following the , but experienced a technical problem after leaving Mexico City. The Brazilian air force said in a statement that the aircraft had to consume enough fuel to allow it to land again safely.
It landed almost five hours after it took off.
Lula planned to board another plane to return to Brasilia later on Tuesday.
The Brazilian air force said in its statement that 鈥渟ecurity procedures for the problem鈥� were performed successfully, but pilots must 鈥渨ait for the necessary fuel consumption so the airplane returns to the same airport it took off from.鈥�
A source who was traveling in the plane said Lula was calm but worried throughout the flight, which was carrying 16 people, including first lady Ros芒ngela Lula da Silva, members of the Cabinet, lawmakers and crew.
The source spoke under condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
Lula arrived in Mexico on Sunday and had a meeting with former President Andr茅s Manuel L贸pez Obrador. He left for Brazil after attending .
The commercial airport was built on a military base by L贸pez Obrador after he canceled the larger partially-built airport closer to the city. Foreign dignitaries, including U.S. first lady Jill Biden, had flown into the airport for the Mexican president's inauguration.
Brazilian media reported that members of Lula's staff in the plane believe a bird strike may be behind the technical problem.
Aviation experts have said about similar incidents that the protocol for landing after a requires pilots to fly close to an airport as they get rid of fuel.
In January, an airplane carrying Lula's security team was not able to take off as it encountered a technical problem during a trip to the northeastern Brazilian state of Paraiba. Brazil's presidency said after the incident that the staffers were never at risk.
___
Savarese reported from Sao Paulo.
____
Follow AP鈥檚 coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at
Mauricio Savarese And Martin Silva, The Associated Press
