Lost comm -- what would you do?
When? Post 9-11?
Nope, years prior. Can't find the cite anymore. Short version - Baron
on an IFR flight plan over the Gulf, due to crossed wires a fighter is
sent to take a look. Weather is cruddy, pilot botches the intercept
(realize that at 8000 ft, cruise speed for a Baron is just about the
same as stall speed for a fighter) and there's a midair. Fighter pilot
bails out successfully. Baron pilot and his pax go in.
At the time (this was over a decade ago) a huge stink was raised.
There was talk of a lawsuit, but it was squashed via sovereign
immunity. Supposedly, intercept procedures were changed. However, a
friend of mine was flying on a DVFR flight plan from over the Gulf in
his Twin Comanche and looked back, upon hearing a strange noise, to see
an F-16 hanging just off his wing, everything hanging out. Seconds
later, the pilot has do dive away to avoid a stall, coming within
several feet of my friend. So nothing has changed.
Michael
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