- Reaction score
- 3,949
- Points
- 1,260
:tsktsk: , especially post 9-11 - MSM links below NORAD statement.
NORAD fighters respond to airspace violation
NORAD news release, 6 Apr 09
News release link
More from the Associated Press, CanWest News Service, CBC.ca, CTV.ca, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
- edited to add AFP story link -
NORAD fighters respond to airspace violation
NORAD news release, 6 Apr 09
News release link
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. —Two F-16 fighters under the direction of North American Aerospace Defense Command intercepted a small Cessna aircraft near Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and the Wisconsin border today at approximately 4:43 p.m. EDT.
F-16 aircraft from the Minnesota Air National Guard initially scrambled out of Duluth, Minn., were replaced by fighters from the Wisconsin Air National Guard based out of Madison, Wisc., who then handed off the pursuit to the Louisiana Air National Guard fighters from New Orleans.
The civilian aircraft departed Thunder Bay, Ontario without Navigation Canada authority and was reported as stolen. It entered United States airspace from the north and was headed south over Lake Superior at approximately 4:23 p.m. EDT. After intercept, the pilot acknowledged the fighters but was unresponsive to specific non-verbal commands. U.S. Customs Border Protection aircraft intercepted the Cessna as well, but the F-16s followed the aircraft until it landed in an area 23 miles northwest of Poplar Bluff, Mo., at 9:45 p.m. EDT.
The intent of military intercepts is to have the identified aircraft re-establish communications with local FAA air traffic controllers and instruct the pilot to follow air traffic controllers to land safely for further follow-on action ....
More from the Associated Press, CanWest News Service, CBC.ca, CTV.ca, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
- edited to add AFP story link -