Air Force fighter jets escorted a plane suspected of hijacking

Thriller with a passenger flight that had taken off from Madrid to Lebanon and was suspected of being hijacked.

By Christos Mazanitis

It happened last Thursday, August 11, in the Greek FIR. A civilian flight that had taken off from Madrid, Spain with a final destination of Beirut, Lebanon caused a disturbance, mobilizing NATO and the Air Force.

According to confirmed information of enikos.gr from the General Aviation Staff, while the aircraft was flying to its destination having activated the autopilot, the pilots from the cockpit had not turned the communication system to the corresponding frequency.

As a result, the NATO Air Control Center in Torrejón, Spain (CAOC Torrejón) was alerted and ordered to immediately recognize the situation. “COM LOSS” as the loss of communication condition is called has several stages that trigger response procedures accordingly, based on protocol following the 9/11 attacks.

In this case, the plane – an Airbus A321 with 145 people on board – was continuing its planned course without deviating.

The Air Force was ordered from the NATO base to control and manage the situation, which it did. It took off from the 115th Fighter Wing in Souda 2 armed F-16 fighters which approached the plane as it was flying over the Argolis.

Passengers on the flight recorded the event with their cellphones, which was posted on Twitter by IntelSky.

The Airbus pilots immediately responded to the meaning of the Greek pilot, and through the corresponding communication channel he gave all the necessary answers.

However, according to protocol the Greek fighter jets escorted the plane until it exited the Greek FIR.