Without casting doubts on your accuracy,
I'd have to say that the story just doesn't
ring right. If I were overflying a military
base, the last thing I'd do is engage in a
conversation about competitive advantages
and hostile workplaces. If, for some un-
fathomable reason, I didn't want to reveal
my final destination, I'd simply give an
en-route airport. If I felt bad about the
borderline deception, I'd stop at the en-
route airport.

DOUBLE TAKE
Pilot's talk of business triggers fighter escort
Thursday, June 14, 2007 3:50 AM

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- F-16s intercepted a small plane after officials
misinterpreted a phrase uttered by the pilot as his aircraft flew over
military airspace: hostile takeover.

The pilot was talking about business, the plane's owner said. But a
frantic air-traffic controller couldn't confirm that because the pilot
had turned off his radio, said Maj. Roger Yates of the Clay County
sheriff's office.

Within minutes, federal authorities scrambled the fighter jets to
intercept the plane Monday evening just outside of Oklahoma City. It was
escorted to the Clay County airport.

Once the plane was on the ground, more than a dozen armed federal agents
and tactical deputies surrounded it. Federal authorities, who
interviewed the pilot for two hours, said Tuesday that there was no
threat to anyone and no charges would be filed.

The plane's owner, Dr. Kenneth E. Mann, said the pilot was heading back
to Kansas City after leaving him in Oklahoma, where Mann is a visiting
physician at several hospitals. Neither he nor authorities would
identify the pilot.

Authorities said the pilot was flying over Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma.

When asked what his destination was, the pilot said he preferred not to
say because competitors could use such information to steal clients.
Mann said the pilot was concerned because he works "in a hostile
business environment."

"Mistakes happen," Mann said, "and in the times we live in after 9/11,
it's better to overreact than not react at all."