Was this before or after they forced the plane down???
F-16s escort twin-engine jet from Columbia Metro to Charlotte
(Charlotte, North Carolina-AP) Sept. 10, 2002 -- Aviation officials say two F-16 fighter jets escorted a twin-engine jet that took off from Columbia to Charlotte-Douglas International Airport today. The Federal Aviation Administration says the plane was forced to land because it did not provide authorities with adequate flight information.
Chris Swecker heads the FBI in North Carolina. He says the three people aboard the plane were headed to Colorado Springs, Colorado, to show the aircraft to a potential buyer. Swecker says the aircraft's registration was to expire at midnight Wednesday. He says the pilots had filed the appropriate flight plans.
Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen, speaking from the FAA regional office in Atlanta, said the plane had an Egyptian registration and because of the foreign registration it was required to file "appropriate paperwork" before taking off. Air traffic controllers raised questions about the flight and requested it land at the closest international airport, she said.
Dwain Wilkins, spokesman for the federal Transportation Security Administration, said authorities were satisfied that the plane, which landed without incident, was not a risk.
The names people aboard were not released but one was identified as an FAA employee, another as an F-16 pilot with the Air National Guard and the third as a sales broker. No criminal charges were expected to be filed but the plane was grounded pending possible action by the FAA.