Airliner escorted by RAF into Manchester Airport

[mickjoebill]

@mickjoebill

cracking a light stick at night = covert?

lmao

Stuff it between the BLACKOUT blind and window.

[Laarbruch72]

If the only tool in your box is a missile armed interceptor, must every problem be a suspected hijack?

A missile armed interceptor isn't the only tool in the box of course, in this case it was a mere contingency for a non-UK carrier inbound to the UK with a very loosely defined threat situation on board. I'm not sure why people can't grasp this. We were an awfully, awfully long way from a shoot down of a civil airliner and the whole thing was relatively routine. The Typhoon was there just in case, what's wrong with that?

Jmmilner offers a good case as to why it's not that bad an idea to ensure that you don't routinely underestimate loosley defined threat situations.

[tubby linton]

Was only one Typhoon untilised or was there another shadowing the formation?

[nutnurse]

According to a Goat poster, two QRA aircraft took off from Coningsby but only one was seen close to the target, er, airliner.

[BOAC]

The other probably behind at missile range?

[nutnurse]

That's the implication. Not ideal, over a populated area, but if needs must it would I suppose be a question of which was the lesser evil...

There's a cruddiest place in the country thread on the Goat - Morecambe, Blackpool and Barrow have been mentioned, although each would have required a substantial overshoot.

[paully]

The second jet is there as back up to the first in case it goes `tech` or has to pull off to be `tankered `.No more no less....the rest are urban myths

[MATELO]

The second jet is there as back up to the first in case it goes `tech`

I thought he was there to take pretty pictures of the offending aircraft and the QRA.