F-16s 'Prepared' to Shoot Down Errant Northwest Flight

ABC ^ | 10/28/09 | BRIAN ROSS and JUSTIN GRANT

[gandalftb]

Armed F-16s from the Wisconsin Air National Guard were on the runway and could have shot down the errant Northwest flight, officials said today.

"As a force of last resort, NORAD is always prepared to do whatever is necessary," NORAD spokesperson Mike Kucharek told ABCNews.com.

Air traffic controllers feared Northwest Flight 188, might have been hijacked after its pilots failed to respond to radio transmissions for more than an hour.

Air traffic controllers reported the pilots initially failed to respond to commands as it passed from the air space controlled by the FAA Denver Center into the area controlled by the Minneapolis Center.

The concern grew as the pilots ignored a command from the Minneapolis approach controllers to begin a descent for landing.

The National Counterterrorism Center in Washington was notified, and authorities began to scrutinize the passenger list, according to Pierre Thomas and Jason Ryan of ABC News.

Once contact was re-established, after an hour and 18 minutes of silence, the controllers ordered the pilots to carry out a series of zigzag maneuvers in order to prove "the pilots had command and control of the craft,".

Controllers tried used a variety of FAA frequencies, the Northwest private frequency and texting services to contact the plane.

The pilots finally responded when contacted by the Denver controllers—-an indication they had not changed frequencies on their radios when they passed into the Minneapolis air space.

The pilots had to be asked three times if they were okay and had control of the plane.

The pilots said they had a "cockpit distraction" and were having a "heated discussion" about a "company issue,".

[Western Phil]

A more likely situation though is the aircraft’s transmitters and radar systems causing problems with your consumer electronics.

Reminds me of a story related to aviation. Years ago we hired on a new PHD. His first job was to go to Omaha to figure out why the automatic foaming system was going off and "cleaning" the airborne command center which was parked in the hanger. This turned out to be expensive in foam and an inconvenience for the plane. What our man discovered was that during the ground check of the plane someone was keying the plane's high powered transmitter and overwhelming the control electronics for the foaming system.

[OldPossum]

Re your post 9, note that the story started off with “Armed F-16’s”. Maybe I am ignorant but aren’t all F-16’s armed? They are military aircraft.

[kenth]

than I am of dating Cindy Crawford.

Heh. I wonder if Cindy would consider that a threat assessment too? ;-)

[east1234]

They won’t make any real money off of this.

[Moe Tzadik]

On Drudge tonight...just a week later...

“Passengers faint on Newark to London flight...”

LONDON — Six people fainted on board a British Airways flight from Newark Liberty Airport to London’s Heathrow Saturday, prompting emergency crews to check the plane for hazardous materials.

Police said nothing suspicious was found on board after the jet was searched by emergency teams in protective gear.

The plane landed at Heathrow’s Terminal Five shortly after 6 a.m. and was boarded by emergency teams, including fire brigades, that had been notified about the unusual onboard illnesses.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iVFsI5T44zkU397Tb2RfLy6RyNLQD9BM3BQG0

[ladyjane]

This report is worrisome. First two pilots “fall asleep” and a week later six passengers faint. Is this a test of their delivery system?

What if the bad guys have figured out a way to have a toxic gas released when a certain altitude is reached. Imagine if this happens to ten planes simultaneously?