Further to my post #24 as of 0610 UTC I can see from FR24 the base at al Tanf has been overflown within 10nm by a QR 777 DOH-CMN, an MEA 320 BEY-KWI, along with two QR aircraft headed to BCN and GRU about to cross into Syrian territory from Iraq very close to that base from the east.
Whilst not the world’s busiest air route it does seem a number of civilian airliners regularly fly on the same route as Mahan 1152 and have passed as close or even closer to the base at al Tanf as Mahan did, so why weren’t fighters sent to intercept those airliners???
Originally Posted by
Old Dogs
I find it difficult to believe that Air Mahan, who flew this route regularly, intentionally or unintentionally deviated from their clearance and nobody called them on it.
The track of Mahan 1152
(from this AvHerald link) had it changing course over the Syria/Iraq border (as all the aircraft I’ve watched fly that route have) slightly to the right flying westwards to sort of parallel Syrian Highway 2 and stay north east of al Tanf.
The flying time from the border course change to over/abeam al Tanf is less than 2 minutes. I can’t seriously believe any Air Force could detect, analyse and decide an aircraft needed to be intercepted, and then order an intercept and get jets there in that time. The USAF must have been tracking the aircraft from well within Iraqi airspace. This just gives more credence to the theory the decision to make a fighter intercept of Mahan was made well before it got near to al Tanf.