Amen. We also seem to forget that until Sept. 11, the common wisdom on dealing=20 with hijackers was considerably different: negotiate, buy time, appease,=20 at least until a safe landing could be carried out. The whole approach=20 was to defuse tension in the cockpit to allow the flight to come to a safe = conclusion. No doubt the Air Force was also trained to facilitate this=20 approach. I know from talking to a Canadian CF18 pilot (a Lt. Col.), that=20 our approach has changed. Whereas pre-Sept. 11 hijack contingency plans=20 were to intercept the hijacked aircraft but tail it from several miles=20 back to avoid provoking the hijackers, now the plan is to get in real=20 close and visible and make your presence known immediately, and make it=20 clear that you'll down the aircraft at the first sign of hostile intent. The situation with the Payne Stewart Learjet tragedy was completely=20 different. The pilot wasn't responding to ATC. The windows were frosted=20 over indicating clearly that there was a major malfunction aboard.=20 Everyone on board was dead or doomed before the intereceptors got to it.=20 Clearly that plane was going to go to grief no matter what. You can't blame the Air Force for going by the playbook on Sept. 11. That = the playbook had to be re-written afterwards is irrelevant. Nobody could=20 anticipate that a handful of terrorists armed with box cutters could wreak = the havoc that they did. I'm also guessing that on the very rare chance=20 that someone should attempt this again, they're not likely to make it past = the forward lav before being neutralized by hostile passengers.. Mike "no fan of conspiracy theories" Gammon =20 ----- Original Message -----=20 From: "John Kelly" <jckelly1011@hotmail.com> To: <AIRLINE@LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU> Sent: Monday, March 11, 2002 10:05 AM Subject: Re: Where's the Air Force? > Subject: Re: Where's the Air Force? > Date: Mon, 11 Mar 2002 14:55:59 +0000 > Mime-Version: 1.0 > Content-Type: text/plain; format=3Dflowed > Message-ID: <F113HbhWE9AUXevVWMn0000f80b@hotmail.com> > X-OriginalArrivalTime: 11 Mar 2002 14:55:59.0693 (UTC) > FILETIME=3D[DB2B67D0:01C1C90C] >=20 > You know, it really frosts me when folks who don't know what happened=20 and > haven't seen the intel reports comment from an authoritative position on = the > tragic events of that day. To ask rhetorically, "where was the Air=20 Force?" > and then answer the question with an "X- Files" government cover-up=20 slant > ignores the basic premise that the events happened way too fast for any > response to occur and prevent the tragedy. >=20 > The 102nd Fighter Wing flying F-15s and based at Otis Air National Guard > Base in Massachusetts received a scramble notice shortly after the AA=20 B-767 > hit World Trade Center Tower 1. Five minutes after they received the=20 notice > two F-15s were airborne. Not five minutes after engine start, but five > minutes after they received the alert. The two jets were about seven > minutes away or approximately 75 miles when the United B-767 hit WTC=20 Tower > 2. Do the math:Their groundspeed was almost 650 mph. >=20 > Much has been said about "combat ready" F-16 and F/A-18 jets based near=20 the > Pentagon. Combat ready is not the same as alert ready or mission ready. > Again, there was insufficient time to intercept the AA B757 that crashed > into the Pentagon. >=20 > United's Flt 93 that crashed in western Pennsylvania had heroic men and > women aboard. They paid the ultimate price to prevent their B-757 from > crashing into the White House or the Capitol Building. However, an F-16 = was > moving into an intercept position and, if need be, was capable of=20 downing > the commercial airline jet. I must add that this nation is not in the=20 habit > of intercepting and shooting down commercial airliners. Can you imagine > being a United or American pilot performing your training period with=20 the > Air Guard and then being ordered to shoot down one of your company's > aircraft, especially when you might know the flight crew members aboard=20 it? >=20 > Last, much criticism has been leveled at the Air Force for not being=20 better > prepared for this type of event. Many of us who wear the military=20 uniform > of the United States take such criticism in a stoic fashion. However, I > offer this analogy: Until September 11, the military was trained to=20 defend > America from external attacks, not internal. How many people on this=20 list > secure their home or apartment in the belief they'll be safe from an=20 attack? > Oh, and how many folks think they'll be attacked from inside their > residence? >=20 > This is not the time to ask "what happened?" and dwell on the event.=20 Rather, > it is the time to ask "how can we prevent this type of event from=20 occurring > again?" and then undertake the necessary measures to ensure it doesn't > happen again on American soil. >=20 > Regards to the list, > JCK >=20 >=20 > =5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F= =5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F= =5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F > Join the world's largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. > http://www.hotmail.com >=20