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Pastimes : Rarely is the question asked: "is our children learning" -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John Sladek who wrote (1796)	1/11/2004 8:45:54 AM
From: John Sladek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2171

08Jan04-USA Today-Fighter escorts worry some By Alan Levin and Tom Squitieri, USA TODAY WASHINGTON — Pilots and air-traffic-control officials are expressing concern that U.S. fighter jets being deployed to escort some passenger flights could be creating unnecessary risks to commercial aviation. Military fighters have shadowed at least a dozen commercial flights since U.S. officials raised the nation's terror alert level on Dec. 21, two sources who track the operations said. Typically, fighters are used to keep an eye on flights that, for a range of reasons, have been deemed suspicious by U.S. counterterrorism and intelligence officials. In some situations, flights have been followed because intercepted communications from suspected al-Qaeda terrorists suggested attacks on certain flight numbers; in other cases, authorities have tracked passengers aboard certain flights. Since the Sept. 11 attacks, fighters have raced to check out suspicious flights about 1,600 times, according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Most of the flights were small, private planes. Homeland Security officials say fighter escorts are particularly necessary under the current Code Orange alert, which indicates there is a "high" risk of a terrorist attack on the USA. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge has said the alert level was raised because intelligence reports suggested that al-Qaeda might strike soon, perhaps in Sept. 11-style attacks using commercial or cargo jets. But Capt. Stephen Luckey, chairman of the Air Line Pilots Association's security committee, said the benefits of fighter-jet escorts might not be worth the potential risks. "Everyone needs to look very carefully at this," says Luckey, whose union represents more than 50,000 commercial pilots. He said some pilots worry that even with strict rules of engagement that limit when military fighters can shoot at suspicious civilian aircraft, there is a risk of an accidental shoot-down. Commercial jets have been unintentionally shot down in the past. A U.S. Navy ship in the Persian Gulf mistook an Iranian jet for a warplane in 1988 and hit it with a missile, killing 290 people. When nimble fighter jets zoom up and down in areas normally reserved for civilian aircraft, that increases the chances that a fighter could collide with another jet, Luckey said. Air traffic controllers periodically have raised such concerns with NORAD. In a few cases, the unusual mix of military and commercial flights in the same airspace has created confusion and led to concerns about safety. Controllers working for the Federal Aviation Administration guide airline traffic and ensure that jets do not come too close to one another. The NORAD flights work with the civilian controllers, but the fighter pilots have the authority to select their own flight paths. A spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, which represents 15,000 controllers, declined to comment. For military and government officials, the 9/11 attacks raised the jarring possibility that in an extreme emergency, fighter jets might have to shoot down a commercial airliner, perhaps killing innocent passengers to save many other people on the ground. Air Force Gen. Ralph Eberhart, chief of the U.S. Northern Command as well as NORAD, has said that the military has taken several steps to try to minimize the chance of downing an innocent civilian aircraft. Eberhart is one of two Air Force generals who have authority to order fighters to shoot down a civilian aircraft if the president or other high-level officials cannot be contacted quickly enough. He said that NORAD conducts drills up to four times a week and that pilots repeatedly are quizzed on the rules governing when they can shoot. Air Force Lt. Col. Roberto Garza, a NORAD spokesman, said that an FAA liaison officer now is stationed in NORAD's Air Warning Center in Cheyenne Mountain, Colo., to improve communication between the two agencies. Garza declined to discuss the procedures that NORAD pilots follow when they follow commercial jets or the rules under which they might shoot one. Eberhart has said only that "we respond according to each situation." Luckey said he believes that before shooting at a jet, the military must not only be certain that the aircraft has been hijacked; officials also must be convinced that it is heading for a sensitive target such as a nuclear plant or government building. The basic rules for intercepting a civilian flight are more well known. All civilian pilots are taught that if a military jet flies alongside and rocks its wings back and forth, the pilot must follow the fighter pilots' instructions. Luckey and other pilots said they have no doubt that the fighter escorts are necessary to protect commercial flights against airborne terrorism. But they said there have been several glitches in such operations. Several pilots said that in a few instances in the months after the Sept. 11 attacks, fighter jets got so close to airline flights that the commercial pilots were forced to take evasive action to avoid collisions. Contributing: Mimi Hall usatoday.com