Originally Posted by
Gauges and Dials
if it turned out to be a hijack rather than a drunk, then a fighter could have done the unpleasant-but-necessary thing.
Has the unpleasant-but-necessary thing ever been done? I know Russians have shot down unhijacked and peaceful Koreans, and Americans have shot down unhijacked and peaceful Iranians, but has a real hijack ever ended with a planeload of passengers being sacrificed by a fighter pilot? Are there really protocols in place that could result in that outcome?