They scrambled F16s for a panic attack?!!

[TomInTib]

MSNBC right now.

We make me ill.

George W Bush's Chickenshit Nation.

[Eurobabe]

1. Wow, if I have one, will they do that for me too?

Maybe they won't LET anxiety-prone people on planes now, that'll be another thing they'll screen for....

[MrCoffee]

6. Cool, free Thorazine shots courtesy of TSA!!!

[jobycom]

2. That way they could shoot the plane down, in case a terrorist was

about to blow it up.

[whistle]

3. F-16's in Iraq, in Lebanon, in Iran or in Washington?

[TomInTib]

10. In case you missed it..

there was a flight from London to NYC diverted to Boston due to a passenger suffering a panic attack.

And they scrambled fighters to intercept the plane.

[whistle]

13. Uhmmm, but on 9/11 our F-16s failed to scramble for hours

[Freedom_Aflaim]

4. I've been on a plane with a person having a panic attack

This was prior to 9/11

We were taxing out and were in line to takeoff and the lady in front of me went apeshit.

We taxi'ed back and she got off the plane. Presumably she went to the hospital.

No news crews and for god sakes, no F-16s. The nation did not panic. Sure there was some commotion in the cabin, but I pretty much forgot about the whole incident till today.

Gheesh, what a nation of ninnies we have become.

[napi21]

8. I'm surprised they did that, but it is a bit different than having it

happen while airborn and still 5-6 hours from your destination. I guess the airlines aren't allowed to carry sedatives onboard, but if this happens very often, they really need to think about doing that. Especially on LONG overseas flights!

Personally, I love to fly, but I don't love it enough to not be antsy on a 12-15 hr. flight WITHOUT A CIGARETTE!!!!!

[merci_me]

15. I'm a white knuckle flier, my whole life. I won't even

get on a plane flying over an ocean. So, I really can't understand, with the terror threat, how anyone who is prone to anxiety attacks (which I've never had), would even cue up to board a flight from London to NYC right now. I watch the people standing in those cues, with complete awe (and goosebumps).

[leftchick]

19. Xanax

that is the ONLY way I can fly.

[madokie]

25. I would be hard pressed to get on a commercial flight

whereas a small plane I only say when, I could care less where, lets just go.

[marions ghost]

27. Just the opposite

the more the plane looks like flying movie theatre the better I like it. I once cancelled a flight because the plane was so small they wanted to know my bodyweight (like they might have to throw something off or jettison some fuel to get me there). Helicopter...I would have to be drugged.

[sinkingfeeling]

5. Hell, yes. It's not like a group of terrorists hijacked the plane or

something. If that were to occur, you can bet those F-16s would still be on the ground.

[The_Casual_Observer]

7. There was a remote chance that they could have gotten the

messages mixed up & shot the plane down for nothing. Things are getting pretty far out of control now.

The media was pretty much convinced that it was a terror plot.

[ConcernedCanuk]

16. They could have shot the plane down for nothing - oh, it's gonna happen

.
.
.

Just wait until the right(wrong) person is on it, like an "enemy" of the GOP, PNACers, BFEE - whatever.

Boom, problem solved, and your gubment "saved" you all . . (well, 'ceptin all them 2-300 passengers, but it's sure better than 9/11, right?)

I for one, have no intention of ever crossing the border to my south, nor getting on a plane.

The USA has NOT made the world safer, quite the contrary.

And despite 4 decades of previously visiting the USA - it's off my travel plans,

forever

(sigh)

[The_Casual_Observer]

17. Nobody seems to be asking questions like this.

The implications of overreacting to this shit.

[ConcernedCanuk]

21. implications of overreacting to this shit? -none - there'll be no evidence

.
.
.

Ya think they are gonna find a flight recorder or tapes when the plane is vaporized and sent to the bottom of the sea?

It's "getting America ready" to accept shooting down a passenger jetliner

Count on it

(sigh)

[AndyA]

9. "Welcome to Calm Air. Here is your boarding pass and your Valium.

Due to a new federal law, all passengers are required to be sedated during the duration of the flight. Uppers will be given intravenously by the flight crew prior to landing. Enjoy your flight."

[smirkymonkey]

11. Dumb question, but why do they call it "scrambling?"

It's not very "secure" sounding, is it?

[TomInTib]

14. It's an old term referring to the "scramble" of pilots racing from

their barracks to their planes.

[smirkymonkey]

22. Oh - Thanks.

It kind of sounded like an aeronautical Chinese fire drill or something. :hi:

[ComerPerro]

12. wouldn't do it after a plane was hijacked and piloted into the WTC

but they do it for a panic attack

[Dragonbreathp9d]

18. Actually, even before 9/11

it was protocol to send up fighters to escort passenger airliners that had either fallen out of contact or had sent out an emergency call. Which is why it is soooo fishy that nothing was done on 9/11....

[sofa king]

20. Oh, no shit! I knew something was up.

This morning, a few minutes before noon, I was walking up the hill to the Arlington courthouse when I saw three fighters flying low overhead in tight formation, from roughly the direction of the Pentagon.

I was on the phone with my mom at the time, and I told her that something must be up. Whenever the fighters are around, Our Fearless Leader is staging another show.

However, the planes I saw weren't F-16s. They were F-5/T-38s, usually used as the "aggressor," or enemy aircraft in Navy training. Andrews AFB has a Navy section there.

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/f-5.htm



Hmmmm.

[Dragonbreathp9d]

23. Except that we dont use migs :)

[orwell]

24. F16's...so impressive...

...so swift to the call to "protect our freedoms..."

That is, unless you are actually under attack...

[Xenotime]

26. I saw a report that they retired the F-16s What gives?

[BlooInBloo]

29. I know they retired the f14 in the last 6 months...

but hadn't heard any such thing about the f16...

[AZBlue]

28. Damned if they do, damned if they don't, right?

We're all angry that the F16s weren't scrambled in time on 9/11. But, when they scramble them quickly, we're supposed to get angry too.

Yes...in hindsight, it's a little silly. But, at the time, they didn't know it was a panic attack.

If it had been a hijacking or a bomber and they hadn't scrambled the jets, then they'd be "chickenshit" for not reacting in time.

Seems to me some people just wanna bitch and will find anything they can in order to do so!