QRA Typhoons intercept Jet2 aircraft

[XV490]

Reports coming in that disruptive female aboard Jet2 (737?) flight led to Coningsby QRA Typhoons guiding the jet into Stansted circa 18:40.
WTF is going on with passengers' behaviour?

[ORAC]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-48732642

Essex 'explosion' was 'sonic boom' caused by military aircraft

[fantom]

Reports coming in that disruptive female aboard Jet2 (737?) flight led to Coningsby QRA Typhoons guiding the jet into Stansted circa 18:40.
WTF is going on with passengers' behaviour?

Why could they not find STN by themselves ?

[XV490]

Dalaman-bound. Holiday region. A few too many afternoon sherbets? Two alleged assaults. And thousands of pounds-worth of RAF resources. Nice one, dearie.

Happy to be proved wrong if this was something more sinister, but I doubt it. Taking bets on the fine... £150?

[Herod]

The airline will probably claim for losses; maybe the RAF should too.

[XV490]

The Coningsby pilots will probably have enjoyed a Mach 1-plus Saturday outing. But for what? I await the local magistrates' sentencing with interest.

​​

[Compass Call]

When a passenger gets disruptive on board a civil passenger aircraft, why is it necessary to get the RAF to escort it back to an airport??
What is the RAF pilot supposed to do that the crew on board the civil aircraft can't do?
Seems to me to be a total waste of taxpayers money and RAF time and resources.
I hope that the RAF claim back the total costs involved from the airline concerned.

[SARF]

I think it’s unfair to charge anyone for rescue services. The RAF boys would have loved this excursion and it’s good practice.. same as the RNLI going out on an emergency shout to a pissed **** in the dinghy. There is no substitute for a real scramble when it comes to sharpening your game up

[Doctor Cruces]

Reports coming in that disruptive female aboard Jet2 (737?) flight led to Coningsby QRA Typhoons guiding the jet into Stansted circa 18:40.
WTF is going on with passengers' behaviour?

Or even WTF is going on launching Q for a disruptive passenger?

[tartare]

Tee hee - Essex explosion - she was clearly very disruptive...

[UAV689]

Heard from a colleague that the crew used the phrase “cockpit secure” perhaps that got atc thinking it was an attempted cockpit breach hence the RAF scramble.



Surely it cannot be too hard to not serve booze unless the boardding card is scanned in the weatherspoons and limit it to 2 drinks...but oh wait, its all about money...

[Chris Kebab]

Or even WTF is going on launching Q for a disruptive passenger?
Totally agree. A tanker launched and airborne for nearly 4 hours, two Typhoons launched, and all for a pi$$ed female passenger. Utterly ludicrous.

Maybe someone with a bigger brain than mine can explain what the Typhoons were ever going to do in this situation other than have a good wazex.

[Wycombe]

Maybe someone with a bigger brain than mine can explain what the Typhoons were ever going to do in this situation other than have a good wazex.

Maybe only to scare the **** out of the offender/s that they are in a whole heap of trouble - if they are not too pissed to be told to have a look outside at the fuss they have caused.

I say this as I believe Jet2 have a good track-record of following through on prosecutions and financial penalties for the numbskulls who cause these situations.

[Asturias56]

No - it's an excuse to launch the aircraft - better launch against something "unexpected" than spend time setting up a scenario to keep everyones hand in

the planes and crew have to be paid for and they have to exercise - so send them out against the odd Russian bomber or a bunch of drunks rarther than another repeat against people from their own squadron

[Tankertrashnav]

A great reminder to the general public that we actually still have an Air Force capable of defending our airspace, even though on this occasion they were only defending us from a tired and emotional woman!

[charliegolf]

A great reminder to the general public that we actually still have an Air Force capable of defending our airspace, even though on this occasion they were only defending us from a tired and emotional woman!

Agreed TTN. The Americans start wars to remain current. This was a much more 'British' way!

CG

PS, I firmly believe that a person guilty of causing a diversion through bad behaviour should get a 10 year no-fly order. Why not?

[Lima Juliet]

Come on folks, think about it. These days the flight deck on an airliner is closed off. They get a report of something going on down the back the first thing they will do is report it - they have no idea how serious it is. From that first radio call then QRA will be launched and it won’t come back until they have seen that jet on the ground. What would happen if the crew called it in and then, under duress, said that everything was now fine and that it actually wasn’t.

Looking at the news report on this the woman wasn’t exactly ‘just a bit shouty after a couple too many wines’ - she allegedly tried to rush the cockpit, made several death threats and required 6 people to restrain her. How do you know that she isn’t one of several on board - you don’t. The airline crew made the right call and it was correct to send the Typhoons up to get “eyes on” to make sure things are OK. Finally, if there was an airliner hijack and it looked like there was an intent to pancake it into London then a decision to bring it down might have to be made - it’s a scenario that is practiced many times. This 2015 news clip shows that final resort:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pe46SmN_tjo

[XV490]

I suspect that more than booze was involved here. Since being issued with new testing kit, traffic cops' bookings for Class A and B drugs in drivers' systems are approaching or overtaking those for alcohol - and some of these same sorts of folks would likely react badly to confinement/claustrophobia in an airliner after they've taken a 'recreational' substance before boarding, which is beyond airports' and airlines' control.

The potential for some narcotics to cause paranoid symptoms is well known.

[chevvron]

I think it’s unfair to charge anyone for rescue services. The RAF boys would have loved this excursion and it’s good practice.. same as the RNLI going out on an emergency shout to a pissed **** in the dinghy. There is no substitute for a real scramble when it comes to sharpening your game up
Back in the days when foam carpets were available at Manston/Leeming, controllers were instructed not to mention there would be a charge for using it unless the pilot specifically asked.

[dragartist]

Just hearing on the local news that MoD is facing four claims for damage due to the sonic boom. Including one for a crack in a car windscreen.
This really annoys me. Should perhaps fall to the unruly passenger who caused the incident.
i wonder if claims would ensue if the jets had been scrambled to chase off a Russian bomber.

[pendrifter]

Post 17

Pilot featured at 1.53, did he join Red Arrows in the tv series - last year I think?

[NorthSouth]

if the jets had been scrambled to chase off a Russian bomberIf the jets ever have to go supersonic to "chase off" a Russian bomber then the whole system has gone wrong. They're tracked for hours long before they get anywhere near the UK allocated bit of international airspace.

[Treble one]

Yes, he is now Red 007......;)

[Asturias56]

Well there's always people ready to claim for anything............. but was it REALLY necessary to supersonic over land - nowhere in the UK is more than 70 miles from the sea - which at 650mph is just over 6 minutes flying time.

Not as if they weren't in contact with the Jet2 crew either

[Arfur Dent]

Confirmed - Red 7

[charliegolf]

First thought on the vid... thinking back to the pilots I knew, that was a VERY long way to run to the jet without a fag and a sit-down. Was it edited?:E

CG

[57mm]

Only a short hop from crewroom to HAS on Battle Flight, but it meant leaving coffee, fags and porno.....

[pasta]

Dalaman-bound. Holiday region. A few too many afternoon sherbets? Two alleged assaults. And thousands of pounds-worth of RAF resources. Nice one, dearie.

Happy to be proved wrong if this was something more sinister, but I doubt it. Taking bets on the fine... £150?
Not quite a fine (criminal proceedings are ongoing), but Jet2 have just invoiced her £85k:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-49017838

[Chris Kebab]

Well done Jet2. Let's hope now that a). they follow it through, b). that every airline does the same after such an incident and c). that flying bans become pan-airline, possible legally enforced (they do it to soccer yobs - banning them travelling).

[CAEBr]

With several of these QRA launches of late I can't remember exactly which one I was following via ABSD, but having gone supersonic down to Stansted and then been stood down, the Typhoons went back and orbited around the Wash for a while, waiting for the Voyager that had just got airborne from Brize to reach them. There can't have been any immediate need to refuel given the time it took, so does the already lucrative AirTanker contract give them a guaranteed paid for sortie on every QRA launch such that hanging around and getting the practice since the jet was paid for anyway was the obvious thing to do?