Military jets were called to escort a passenger plane to Manchester Airport today after airline crew received a hoax bomb threat.
Qatar Airways flight QR23 -- an Airbus A330-30 heading from Doha to Manchester -- had 269 passengers and 13 crew on board. The airline has issued a statement saying that "the crew oboard had received a threat about a possible device on board and Qatar Airways immediately took all the necessary precautions to alert British authorities".
What happens next sounds rather dramatic: RAF fighter jets were scrambled, much to the panic of passengers who could see the aircraft through the windows.
A Royal Air Force spokesman confirmed that Typhoon aircraft were launched from RAF Coningsby "in their quick reaction alert role" to "investigate a civilian aircraft whose pilot had requested assistance". "The aircraft was escorted to Manchester where it landed safely. This incident is now being handled by the civilian authorities."
Upon landing, a passenger was escorted off the plane and arrested.
Wired.co.uk spoke to the Ministry of Defence to find out under which circumstances RAF jets are scrambled, how often it happens, and what can be done if it does happen.
Whoa. Fighter jets were scrambled. That must be serious, right?
Actually, it turns out that this sort of incident is not all that uncommon. Fighter jets were scrambled 17 times in 2013, 21 times in 2012 and 20 times in 2011. The MOD would not reveal the reasons for these.
Under what circumstances does the RAF send jets to escort aircraft?
There are a number of reasons why the RAF might scramble jets.
These include if the plane isn't responding to air traffic control, if contact with an aircraft is lost altogether, if a security threat (such as this one) is reported, if a plane enters British airspace without permission or if a plane is travelling along the airspace border acting shiftily.
What sort of plane might act 'shiftily'?
Several times a year -- eight times in 2013 alone -- Russian military aircraft are spotted flying near UK airspace, although Russian planes have never entered the UK without permission. Some analysts believe that these 'Russian Bear' reconnaissance aircraft are sent to test Western response times.
What happens when military planes are scrambled?
One or more planes -- Typhoons or Tornados -- take off from the nearest RAF base and head towards the aircraft. The RAF pilots would manoeuvre the jets alongside the target plane and might also take photos or attempt to make contact with the crew on board. The jets would continue to flank the target plane until the situation was no longer deemed to be of concern to national security.
Are the jets there to shoot down the aircraft?
At a very last resort, yes. But usually military jets are sent as a precaution and many are called back before even intercepting the target plane -- usually after contact is resumed or more information suggests that the situation isn't of concern.
But what else can military jets do apart from shoot down the aeroplane in question?
Firstly, the RAF pilots can try and reestablish communication with the plane from the air. More forcefully, they can fly alongside the plane and try to force it to take a particular route or land at a particular airport. Manchester and Stansted are the UK airports designated for diverted landings since they are equipped to handle situations such as hijacking threats, although the MOD would not reveal any details.
Under what circumstances would RAF jets shoot down an intercepted plane?
For reasons of national security (that old chestnut), the MOD would not reveal when this might happen as it would count as 'rules of engagement'. But it's very much a last resort.
Do we need to worry about today's incident?
No. It's completely resolved and is being handled by civilian authorities.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
