Fighter jets escort two passenger planes after bomb threat

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Jan 24, 2015, 4:25 pm

ScatterX

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Fighter jets escort two passenger planes after bomb threat

Two F-16 fighters escort Delta and Southwest flights headed towards ATL.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/24/us/atl...eat/index.html

Quote:

F-16 fighter jets escorted two passenger planes into Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Saturday after a bomb threat made on Twitter was deemed credible, according to military officials.
This is Delta Flight 1156, which landed safely in Atlanta on Saturday.
This is Delta Flight 1156, which landed safely in Atlanta on Saturday.

Southwest Airlines Flight 2492 and Delta Flight 1156 landed safely at the airport and were being searched by bomb disposal and canine units, according to airline officials.

Jan 24, 2015, 4:33 pm

GUWonder

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The threat was so "credible" that incredibly there was no bomb to be found on either of the planes.

Unfortunately, if a government and airlines don't engage in CYA behavior in such circumstances too, then someone will be all over them if anything more adverse -- highly improbable as it is under such circumstances -- than a diversion take place.

Jan 24, 2015, 4:40 pm

ScatterX

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Quote:

Originally Posted by GUWonder

The threat was so "credible" that incredibly there was no bomb to be found on either of the planes.

There must be more to this story, but it seems that "credible" is based on nothing more than the twittered bomb threat sounded like the person really meant it.

I'm not sure what to believe when news agencies say things like "NORAD jets were scrambled" to intercept the planes. Is fact checking and understanding truly dead?

Cue the debate over the merits/silliness of having fighter jets escort planes that potentially have a bomb on them.

Jan 24, 2015, 7:57 pm

Flaflyer

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Quote:

Originally Posted by ScatterX

Cue the debate over the merits/silliness of having fighter jets escort planes that potentially have a bomb on them.

Besides Theatre and some flight time pay for some fighter jocks, what does “escorting” a civilian airliner accomplish? IMHO Nothing.

Terrorist: “If you try to give us orders, we blow up the plane, kill everyone on board, and rain burning fuel and metal down on the heads of thousands of innocent civilians.”

Fighter Pilot: “If you don’t do what we say, we fox a missile and blow up the plane, kill everyone on board, and rain burning fuel and metal down on the heads of thousands of innocent civilians.”

Can YOU see any difference in the final outcome?