Citation :
As soon as a plane deviates from its flight planfor instance, by making a wrong turn at a fixan Air Traffic Controller contacts the pilot. If the Controller fails to make contact or routine communication becomes impossible, established rules dictate that an aircraft will be requested to scramble and assess the situation by interception. A clear example of this routine procedure is the FAAs response when the Lear jet chartered by golf professional Payne Stewart deviated from its flight path while the pilot failed to reply by radio. MS-NBC reported that:
Pilots are supposed to hit each fix with pinpoint accuracy. If a plane deviates by 15 degrees, or two miles from that course, the flight controllers will hit the panic button. Theyll call the plane, saying American 11, youre deviating from course. Its considered a real emergency, like a police car screeching down a highway at 100 miles an hour. When golfer Payne Stewarts incapacitated Learjet missed a turn at a fix, heading north instead of west to Texas, F-16 interceptors were quickly dispatched.[4]
The FAA, in other words, immediately contacted the military when it was confirmed that the plane was off course, and communication with the plane was blocked. As CNN reported:
Several Air Force and Air National Guard fighter jets, plus an AWACS radar control plane, helped the Federal Aviation Administration track the runaway Learjet and estimate when it would run out of fuel.[5]
Once a plane is intercepted by military jets, daytime communications with a commercial plane that fails to respond properly to radio contact are described by the FAA manual as follows:
[The interceptor military craft communicates by] Rocking wings from a position slightly above and ahead of, and normally to the left of, the intercepted aircraft
This action conveys the message: You have been intercepted. The commercial jet is then supposed to respond by rocking its wings to indicate compliance, upon which the interceptor performs a slow level turn, normally to the left, on to the desired heading [direction]. The commercial plane then responds by following the escort.[6]
The deviation of a plane from its designated flight path obviously creates a hazard in the form of a potential collision with another plane. The FAA thus has a clear definition of what constitutes an emergency situation: Consider that an aircraft emergency exists... when: ... There is unexpected loss of radar contact and radio communications with any... aircraft.[7] Elsewhere, the FAA states: EMERGENCY DETERMINATIONS: If... you are in doubt that a situation constitutes an emergency or potential emergency, handle it as though it were an emergency.[8]
An FAA Air Defense Liaison Officer stationed in the headquarters of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) plays the role of coordinating the FAA with the U.S. military to handle emergencies as efficiently as possible.[9] While NORAD normally scrambles fighter jets, if necessary, other military jets can be scrambled as well: Normally, NORAD escort aircraft will take the required action. However, for the purpose of these procedures, the term escort aircraft applies to any military aircraft assigned to the escort mission.[10]
Again, the response to the deviation of Payne Stuarts jet from its flight path provides an example. ABC News reported that:
First, a fighter jet from Tyndall, Fla., was diverted from a routine training flight to check out the Learjet. Two F-16s from another Florida base then picked up the chase, later handing it over to two Air National Guard F-16s from Oklahoma, which handed it over to two F-16s from Fargo, North Dakota.[11]
As a matter of mandatory routine, the established instructions for a serious emergency are followed, and this includes emergencies involving the possibility of a hijacking. In the event of a serious emergency, or if a possible hijacking has occurred: The escort service will be requested by the FAA hijack coordinator by direct contact with the National Military Command Center (NMCC).[12] The Department of Defense affirms the same, adding that once military planes are scrambled in accordance with immediate responses, the Department of Defense will be contacted for approval of special measures: In the event of a hijacking, the NMCC will be notified by the most expeditious means by the FAA. The NMCC will, with the exception of immediate responses, ... forward requests for DoD [Department of Defense] assistance to the Secretary of Defense for approval.[13] An IEEE Spectrum Special Report citing an Air Traffic Control expert further emphasises that: Procedures dictate that controllers alert the U.S. military when a hijacking is known to be under way. The typical response is for the Air Force to scramble intercept jets.[14] It should be reiterated that, as already noted, procedures also dictate that controllers immediately alert the military to scramble fighter craft if a plane deviates from its flight path and communication between the plane and controllers is blocked. This occurs whether or not the situation consists of a potential hijacking, as was the case with Payne Stuarts Lear jet, which was intercepted by military planes almost immediately, and while communication with the jet was blocked.
Indeed, The U.S. military has their own radar network
(NORAD). They are tied into the FAA computer in order to get information on incoming flights. If a target is discovered without flight plan information, or in violation of the same, they will call on the shout line to the appropriate [Air Traffic Control] Center sector for an ID. If the Center sector has no datablock or other information on it, the military will usually scramble an intercept flight. Essentially always they turn out to be private pilots
not talking to anybody, who stray too far outside the boundary, then get picked up on their way back in. But, procedures are procedures, and they will likely find two F-18s on their tail within 10 or so minutes.[15] The NMCC can thus tap into radar stations to monitor emergencies and hijackings, as occurred during Payne Stewarts flight when officers on the Joint Chiefs were monitoring the Learjet on radar screens inside the Pentagons National Military Command Center.[16]
Indeed, according to the admission of NORAD spokesman Marine Corps Major Mike Snyder recorded in the Boston Globe, its fighters routinely intercept aircraft:
When planes are intercepted, they typically are handled with a graduated response. The approaching fighter may rock its wingtips to attract the pilots attention, or make a pass in front of the aircraft. Eventually, it can fire tracer rounds in the airplanes path, or, under certain circumstances, down it with a missile.[17]
The well-known example of Payne Stuarts Learjet also gives an idea of the acceptable time periods of a routine air response. On 11th September, there was virtually no air response at all:
... from the official National Transportation Safety Board crash report: 9:19 a.m. [of Payne Stewarts plane]:
The flight departs.
9:24: The Learjets pilot responds to an instruction from air traffic control.
9:33: The controller radios another instruction. No response from the pilot. For 4 ½ minutes the controller tries to establish contact.
9:38: Having failed, the controller calls in the military. Note that he did not seek, nor did he require, the approval of the President of the United States, or indeed anyone. Its standard procedure, followed routinely, to call in the Air Force when radio contact with a commercial passenger jet is lost, or the plane departs from its flight path, or anything along those lines occurs.
9:54: 16 minutes laterthe F-16 reaches the Learjet at 46,000 feet and conducts a visual inspection. Total elapsed time: 21 minutes[18]
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