BBC: RAF jets scrambled after 'incident' (possibly hijack?)

Originally posted by HelenConway


Can someone explain to me please what difference jets will make in terms of the safety of the people on the aircraft. Is their agenda to shoot the aircraft out of the air in an unpopulated area if the ' terrorists' do not stand down ?

Yup. Jets are there to shoot it down, should the plane appear to threaten highly populated areas. Jets obviously cannot do anything else.

The difference for the people on the aircraft is that they are likely to get a quick death, and not even know what hit them. Whereas if the plane was used as a weapon, some might survive on the crash, with various degrees of injuries, which they'd have to suffer for the rest of their life.

reply to post by expatwhite


Compared to Manchester/Heathrow/Gatwick, Stansted is fairly isolated and probably the furthest from major population/infrastructure.

From bbc news -

Two men have been charged with endangering an aircraft after RAF Typhoon jets escorted a passenger plane over the UK. Tayyab Subhani, 30, and Mohammed Safdar, 41, both of Nelson, Lancashire, were detained at Stansted on Friday.

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