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Old Jan 25, 2015 | 3:19 pm
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orca15
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Originally Posted by flyerslc
Really a naive question, but can someone explain why F-16s were scrambled to escort these planes back? I am just asking, because I can understand why they do it if the pilot is somewhere he/she is not supposed to be, or does not respond. These planes were coming back, with the pilots in full communication with the air controllers, and no terrorists on board. What is the role of the F-16s in this situation?
I would say it was just in case something changed. If the airliner deviated from course, or something exploded, it would be pretty helpful to have someone watching it happen and reporting the status.

Scrambling a couple of fighters isn't that big of a deal (to them, maybe to the pax!) and is done regularly, even if nothing is going on, for training. It's not necessarily threatening, it's why they are sitting in the alert shacks all day.
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