Fighter Jets Scrambled After Plane Loses Contact (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/01/01/fighter-jets-scrambled-after-plane-loses-contact/)
Published January 01, 2012 | Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO – Federal authorities say fighter jets were scrambled to intercept a small plane that had lost contact with traffic controllers...
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I can understand rolling the F-16s down the runway if this was a plane out of communication over DC, or some militarily sensitive area. That's common sense, and they don't send SAMs against out of communication C172s because the F-16s give them a means to measure the response.
But this was a Cessna 172 over Ventura California, for God's sakes. in all likelihood, there are probably 40-60 of the damned things flying over that same area every day, and as I said above, the damned things are out of communications for one reason or another damned near 30 minutes out of every hour. Add to that the fact that - near as I can figure, I don't have Los Angeles sectionals - I think it's far enough north that LA Center has control over the airspace, and not LA Approach or Departure Control, and this whole thing smells like somebody getting worked up over nothing.
Considering that both times it's been tried in the post 9/11 world, the C172 has proved a consistently poor choice of weapon for terrorists and political malcontents, the Chair Force and the state-run propaganda ministries might just want to knock off the hyperventilating whenever one goes incommunicado for a while.
The North American Air Defense command says if it can't determine why the airplane lost contact, the ultimate option is to destroy it.
Considering that both times it's been tried in the post 9/11 world, the C172 has proved a consistently poor choice of weapon for terrorists and political malcontents, the Chair Force and the state-run propaganda ministries might just want to knock off the hyperventilating whenever one goes incommunicado for a while.
The Chair Force?
:whatever:
This statement covered under the Interservice Rivalry Act of 1947.
Cousin has an airstrip about a mile from my house. He was doing touch-N-go's yesterday with his Cessna 210. I doubt he was in radio contact with anyone...and I never saw any F-16's. Someone must have been asleep on the job, huh. :-)
Seriesly( :-)), the A-10's, F-4's, F-15's and F-16's played around here for years. Hardly ever see them any more. Once in a blue moon we'll have a pair of SCNG
F-16's part the pine tops for a few minutes, that's it.
The A-10's used to scare me to death. I would be in the middle of nowhere running a bulldozer and all of a sudden they would be right on top of me. :lmao: No, I didn't have to clean my pants but if I had been a enemy tanker, I might have...if I was lucky enough to survive.