“If there had been a bomb or chemical device on board, how could a plane flying alongside have been of assistance?”
They’d have cleared the air space along its route and gotten the plane to a safe spot (such as the ‘isolation’ areas shown here), well away from other planes, cities on the coast, etc. IF there were a chemical/explosive on board, they would work to limit loss to that plane and its passengers/cargo only rather than a larger ‘audience.”
A reasonable response. Hadn’t thought of that.