Intercepts and Shootdowns
firing missiles from the air or by the use Bulgarian airspace, killing 58 such as a power plant, a large heavily
of air defence systems (surface to air people, and Korean Air Lines populated structure or a seat of power
missiles) when standard interception flight 902, shot down by Soviet such as a parliament building.
has failed. fighters in 1978 after violating Many issues need to be addressed
It was not until 9/11 that commercial Soviet airspace (miraculously before an aircraft can justifiably be
airliners were used as airborne only two passengers were killed) shot down. It is not always clear when
weapons, thus it is these attacks that and Korean Air Lines flight 007 an aircraft has actually been hijacked
led to the whole idea of shooting down (with its ironically designated and furthermore, when it has hostile
civilian airliners with hostile intent James Bond-esque flight intent; an air force interception to
becoming a real possibility for many number) which was also shot investigate may be inconclusive. On
countries. As catastrophic a terrorist down by the Soviet Union in top of this, it will most probably not
attack as 9/11 was, none of the four 1983 after straying into Soviet be known exactly where a hijacked
hijacked aircraft that day were shot airspace, this time all 269 people aircraft is headed until it is too late to
down by the US Air Force (USAF) on board were killed; shoot it down without loss of life on the
and nor, according to open source • Militants using surface to air ground anyway – most targets are in
intelligence, were any shoot down missiles, such as the two Air built up urban areas. Shooting down
attempts made. To this day, no country Rhodesia flights shot down this an aircraft over any area other than a
has ever ordered the shooting down way in the late 1970s, the Arkia large rural plain, forest, desert or water
of a hijacked or suspected hijacked flight targeted in Mombasa would result in Lockerbie-style ground
airliner with suspected hostile intent, in 2002 and the striking of casualties which could be equal to or
with the possible exception of the 1973 a DHL plane in Baghdad in greater than those on board.
downing of Libyan Airlines flight 114 by 2003 (which managed to fly
the Israelis. and land on differential engine “...in the US in the year
The Libyan Air Lines flight in thrust alone and escaped with
question had accidentally strayed into no fatalities or injuries despite leading up to 9/11, 67
Israeli airspace over the Sinai peninsula major aircraft damage).
and was shot down by Israeli fighter routine interceptions
pilots after refusing to follow their One incident that could have resulted
signals. It is not clear that the Israelis in a government being forced into of suspected hijacked
suspected it had been hijacked and shooting down its own airliner was the
was to be used as a suicide bombing Air France hijacking of December 1994. craft took place, all
weapon albeit that some claim they It was ascertained by French intelligence
believed the aircraft to be heading agencies that the hijackers, who of which were purely
for Tel Aviv. In fact the Israelis later commandeered the aircraft in Algiers,
stated they believed one possible planned to fly the craft into the Eiffel investigatory and found
scenario was that it was on an aerial Tower in Paris, or another target in the
spying mission, which is not the same city. Fortunately, the plane was stormed that none had actually
as a government believing that the by French Special Forces resulting in the
shooting down of a plane is justifiable deaths of all the hijackers at Marseilles been hijacked..”
and proportionate on the grounds of International Airport, where it had
preventing greater loss of life. Only stopped to refuel. Indeed, it was the It is not certain what effect the crash
five of the 113 on board survived. hijackers demand to fully fuel the Airbus impact would have on the target and
There have been several other for a flight to Paris that contributed to surrounding area if it did hit – the
incidents of civilian airlines being shot the authorities’ assessment that the World Trade Centre was in some ways
down - both prior and after 9/11 - aircraft might be turned into a weapon a fortunate strike for al Qaeda – the
either by the military or by militants, of mass destruction. towers were not guaranteed to fall,
yet none has been a case of the military The scenario of a State’s air force and the subsequent loss of life was not
shooting down a suspected hijacked shooting down a hijacked or suspected guaranteed to be so high. A hijacked
aircraft which they believed had hostile hijacked commercial aircraft is one that craft may cause relatively little damage
intent. Previous non-hijacking related does not rest easy with society, not to its target, unless also carrying a
shoot downs include: least of all with the government of the chemical, biological radiological or
day. The political and personal fallout nuclear device on board. However, if
• Incidents during times of war, for ordering the deaths of hundreds certain infrastructure were hit it could
notably World War II; of innocent civilians aboard an aircraft be catastrophic, a nuclear power
• Shoot downs during the Cold is unimaginable, even if their deaths station for example.
War e.g. El Al flight 402 shot appear an inevitable outcome of letting If an aircraft coming into land at a
down by the Bulgarian military the aircraft take its hijacked course – major city airport suddenly deviates
in 1955 when it strayed into most probably into critical infrastructure from its flight path and starts heading
December 2009 Aviationsecurityinternational www.asi-mag.com 11
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