Co wants to keep jet usage private

Washington: General Motors, criticised by US lawmakers for its use of corporate jets, asked aviation regulators to block the public���s ability to track a plane it uses.

���We availed ourselves of the option as others do to have the aircraft removed��� from a Federal Aviation Administration tracking service, GM spokesman, Greg Martin, said Wednesday.

Flight data show that the leased Gulfstream Aerospace G-IV jet flew November 18 from Detroit to Washington, where CEO Richard Wagoner Jr spoke to a Senate committee that day and a House panel the next day on behalf of a $25 billion auto-industry rescue plan.

Representatives at the November 19 House hearing including Democrat Gary Ackerman of New York faulted Wagoner, Ford Motor CEO Alan Mulally and Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli for taking private jets to Washington to plead their case.