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Today a Northwest airliner was escorted
down by fighter jets at the Schiphol airport
in Amsterdam because a couple
of people onboard were reported
engaged in some suspicious activity.
What is the exact purpose
of escorting? Is it so that if
hijackers/terrorists on board try to force
the pilot to go and crash somewhere,
the fighters can shoot down the airliner
before that, or is it for some other reason?

2006-08-23 06:19:34 · 12 answers · asked by K M 1 in Science & Mathematics Astronomy & Space

12 answers

Two reasons:
1) It is hoped that the sight of a military presence will deter the terrorists from carrying out the plans they have. The situation is taken out of their control.

2) If they do intend to go ahead with the planned destruction of the aircraft over a built up area the fighters will be given permission to destroy the plane before it can reach it's intended target or another target of opportunity. The 'ideal' situation would be over wide open spaces or open water.

2006-08-23 06:27:18 · answer #1 · answered by Hamish A 3 · 0 0

You are correct. The fighters are there to shoot down the airliner if the hijackers try to crash it into a target an the ground. The lives of the passengers are crew would be sacrificed to save possibly thousands of people on the ground. Fighters were scrambled to shoot down the second airliner that crashed into the world trade center, but even using afterburner and flying at supersonic speed, they got there too late, so the new policy is to have fighters nearby any suspicious aircraft.

2006-08-23 08:22:30 · answer #2 · answered by campbelp2002 7 · 0 0

So the plane is under control of the fighters and not the pilot anymore. If the pilot of the airliner fails to follow the fighters, it will be shot down.

2006-08-23 06:22:28 · answer #3 · answered by Hushyanoize 5 · 0 0

Simply to make sure it goes where the authorities want it to go. If, however, someone on board wanted to blow it up...a fighter escort is useless...except as witnesses, assuming the fighters survive.

2006-08-23 06:26:01 · answer #4 · answered by mzJakes 7 · 0 0

Protocol whilst intercepting a hijacked passenger airplane as much as the morning of 9/11 became into to get its interest and direct it to land. there became into no protocol in place for shooting it down. All hijackings as much as that element in touch political demands or ransom, no longer using the airplane as weapons.

2016-10-02 11:01:11 · answer #5 · answered by ? 3 · 0 0

For the same reason Police escort a possible criminal- to prevent it from changing course

2006-08-23 06:21:19 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1 0

fighters will shoot the airliner, if they didn't comply with it...it will create a casualty, but not as much as if the plane hit another world trade center...

2006-08-23 06:22:40 · answer #7 · answered by christopher d 3 · 0 0

So if they get unruly they can blow them out of the sky. Like start heading for a building or stadium.

2006-08-23 06:25:17 · answer #8 · answered by Ron B. 7 · 0 0

Yes.

2006-08-23 06:24:23 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

yes

2006-08-23 06:21:16 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

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