Friday, February 21, 2014

Italian and French jets escorted hijacked plane because Swiss AF was outside working hours

On Feb. 17, an Ethiopian Boeing 767 from Addis Ababa to Rome Fiumicino was hijacked by the copilot while the pilot was in the toilet, and eventually landed at Geneva airport.
The aircraft, flying as ET 702 was escorted on its route by two Eurofighter Typhoons of the 36° Stormo on QRA (Quick Reaction Alert).
When the Ethiopian flight reached the boundaries of the French airspace it was handed over to the French Air Force whose Mirage fighter jets escorted it until landing in Geneva: noteworthy, the hijacked liner was accompanied until landing by the French jets because instead of Swiss interceptors because the entire interception took place early in the morning, outside the working hours (08.00 – 12 and 13.30 – 17.00) of the Swiss F-18 Hornets!
http://theaviationist.com/2014/02/18/ethiopian-air-def-response/

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