Italian F-16s scrambled against C-130

[cockanelli]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1028108/Italy-sends-fighter-jets-RAF-plane-veers-course-triggers-terror-alert.html

Sounds like someone's going to be embarrassed. Too much chatting?

[Dan D'air]

That's one hell of a Herc if it can cover 250 miles in half an hour..........

[pohm1]

The drama lasted almost half an hour and the Hercules was intercepted 250 miles south of the capital near Reggio Calabria.

Not quite!:ok:

P1

[The Helpful Stacker]

If the Italians had still been using F3's would they have been able to catch a sporty Herc?

;)

[glad rag]

HS, easily.

[ZH875]

Only if they dared to turn off the thrust reversers.:E

[Level 28]

C130J? No Herc navigator would....

[N Joe]

If you doubt whether an F3 can catch a Herc, check out the F3's impressive 15th place in the world's fastest aircraft on http://www.globalaircraft.org/top50.htm

Mach 2.2 may be stretching it a little bit (maybe with a high alt dive with no pylons and a total disregard for VNO) but a 69997ft service ceiling?!?!?!?

Of course, all the above assumes you got it off the ground before it went U/S.

N Joe

[taxydual]

Maybe it was a bit light of a flightplan that gave it the extra knots. (Do you still file plans for the bleeding obvious routing?).

Ex Opsy sends

[TommyGun]

A unit of crack Italian troops due to take part in a Nato exercise `invaded' the wrong country. Their plane should have touched down in Kristiansand, Norway, last Thursday but for reasons that remain mysterious touched down instead in Kristianstad, Sweden, hundreds of miles away. It was only when the 116 Alpini, complete with jaunty William Tell felt caps from which protrude a long black turkey feather, flounced off the plane - Italian soldiers don't march - and began to queue at passport control that they realised they were in the wrong country.

Italians have been known to get it wrong too.

[Been There...]

I know of a Stn Cdr at Lyneham who did something similar arriving for a large NATO exercise in Turkey and landed at the wrong airport. Albeit there were 4 airports in the city!!

Oh well...

[goneeast]

yes, and the staish was only member of flight deck not downgraded if i remember correctly? (despite his having previous on the shiney fleet)

[OKOC]

SFSO at EGDL "persuaded" the Stn Cdr that he too should be E cat'd I think from memory! (and was)

[SCINHead]

Shame the daily mails photo is of a J rather than a ......

[TheInquisitor]

The previous cases were all similar in that the planes diverted from their planned route for no motive and then failed to respond to radio contact.'

Bollocks. More like the Italians 'lost' the filed flight plan, and the freq they were handed off to was 'unmanned'....

[Wensleydale]

Doesn't everyone still cover "Guard" these days? Might have been a quicker/cheaper option........

"Aircraft squawking nnnn in posit xx contact Rome Control on frequency..." should have sufficed assuming that the crew were awake.

[AdanaKebab]

Remember it's a NATO CAOC complete with many nationalities that watches the skies of Italia ..... Including RAF personnel ..... all very embarrassing!
And before you all slag off the Italians too much, my experience is that they are way more competent than others we could mention in the southern region .... but lets not get into that ...

[Willard Whyte]

SFSO at EGDL "persuaded" the Stn Cdr that he too should be E cat'd I think from memory! (and was)

I thought all the crew went down a 'Cat': The SC from B to C, the rest of the crew from C to E 'coz you 'couldn't' go from C to D*.

*I did!

[saudipc-9]

Well let's be fair now. I believe a number of Royal Marines also invaded the wrong country a few years ago too, much to the amusement of some Spanish beachgoers:p

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2002/feb/19/gibraltar.world

[Question_Answer]

N Joe, good link to the fastest aircraft, whether substantiated figures or surfing spotters.

<pedant mode on> I note the following text above the #1 entry - "the Helios satellite obriting the sun travels at Mach 227.3. Keep in mind these are spacecraft and not aircraft."
<pedant mode on> ......and there was me thinking that Mach was a measure relative to the local speed of sound - in space no one can hear you scream!!!! <pedant mode off>

#22 "only" at 43,635ft?
#45 Nimrod 2000 - oh dear.
What position would Typhoon, F-35 and the B-2 take
Fastest prop driven aircraft - Bear?
Where's Aurora !!

[Madbob]

What about the good old VC10? It was and remains a pretty slippery ship. It her airliner days cruise I seem to recall was faster than a B707 at about 0.88M.

I never had the delight to fly one but have been pax in both civil and ASCOT ac. They were also very quiet as the rear engines left all the noise behind!!

MB