A PLANE carrying Australian Prime Minister John Howard was forced to make an emergency landing in Iraq after the cabin began to fill with smoke and fumes shortly after take-off, defense officials said yesterday.

Howard was on a secret visit to southern Iraq when the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) C-130 Hercules was forced back to Tallil airbase late Saturday.

The plane, which was carrying 30 people including the head of the Australian defense force Air Marshal Angus Houston, was on its way to Baghdad when the cabin filled with smoke and fumes soon after taking off from Tallil.

The pilot turned the plane around as it reached an altitude of about 1,500 meters, forcing passengers to wear oxygen masks as the plane dropped into a rapid descent.

Smoke was billowing from the C-130 when it touched down at Tallil some 300 kilometers south of Baghdad and troops rushed to evacuate the prime minister, reports said.

Journalists traveling with the prime minister said Howard appeared relaxed after the incident.

“I’m fine. I was in very good hands. You can’t get any better than the RAAF,” Howard said.

Houston, who was seated in the cockpit with Howard during the 14-minute ordeal, said the emergency was deemed a PAN — possible assistance necessary — just below a mayday call.

“It was a precautionary landing. A PAN was declared and the pilot requested an immediate landing,” he said.

“It was the sensible thing to do in the circumstances. I can’t fault their actions. The evacuation was done very, very quickly and efficiently.”

The cause of the emergency landing would be investigated, he added.(SD-Agencies)