Two F-15s scrambled from Portland after hijacking scare
PORTLAND, Ore. – Two F-15s were scrambled from Portland to escort Alaska Airlines Flight 819 into Seattle from Kona in Hawaii on Thursday night, according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
One person was taken into custody when the plane landed in Seattle and was questioned by the FBI, an FBI spokesperson said. The passenger cooperated with authorities and was later released.
According to the FBI, its field office in Hawaii received a tip that named a man on the flight and said the man was a hijacker. The FBI, however, is considering the possibility the "tip" is a hoax, and according to several law enforcement sources, the FBI believes it will likely turn out to be a hoax.
An airline spokesperson said the airline was notified that law enforcement was interested in the passenger.
The passenger exhibited no unusual behavior during the flight and was asleep for much of it, the airline spokesperson said.
According to the FBI, there was no indication there was a credible threat, and if it turns out it was a hoax, it will be thoroughly investigated.
Perry Cooper with Sea-Tac Airport said once the plane was on the ground, it was boarded from the rear by Port police who detained the passenger. All the other passengers deplaned without incident.
A police dog was used to search the airplane and found nothing.
The F-15s were scrambled at about 6:15 p.m. "out of an abundance of caution," according to NORAD.
I hope whoever they got never gets out of jail less bad guys the better wtg Oregon Air Guard and thank you guys for what you do for our nation
I wonder what will happen to the anon caller, his phone will be traced, and when the police show up I am sure that he will have some answering to do..and a hefty bill to pay.
Probably some angry abusive ex girlfriend that wanted to get back at him.. Who knows
Duh! An anonymous call? What were they thinking (not)! One wonders about the intelligence of the 'intelligence service' if it decides to scramble jets on the wafer-thin evidence of an anonymous caller.
If this guy was such a threat, where were the air marshals? Aren't they on the longer distance flights?Â
 @washcomom Because there is an unlimited supply of air marshals.
As a small-plane pilot, I would like to ask any airline pilots here if keeping the airplane at flight levels and shutting off the oxygen would be the solution to an out-of-control cabin.  Just pull on your mask in the cockpit, reduce the oxygen and everybody goes to sleep before they know it's happening. Beats blowing a jet filled with civilians out of the sky, doesn't it?
 @Playanekes Releasing nitrous oxide into the cabin might be effective.  Tranquilizer darts if it is just one person. Â
 @Playanekes You know the government, since when do they do anything with out "Over kill"? to them its jsut another job. oh yeah were going to blow up a plane full of people..yeah so what..what is the big deal? We'll just apologize and say it had to be done. at least this time they launched planes with humans in to cock pit, what if next time they use Drones?
I gave up flying when the friendly skies became unfriendly. Â If this had not been a hoax, would their orders be to take the plane down by any means? Â So this hoax isn't in the least ammusing.
 @czullo " If this had not been a hoax, would their orders be to take the plane down by any means?"What do -you- think? They dispatched the F-15s because they're the duty base for the region, as opposed to the training bases in Seattle which are much closer. They -could- have sent unarmed fighters from McChord or Whidbey just to make a show of force, but, they scrambled two of NORAD's armed interceptors charged with defending the region from aerial attack.It is what it is, friend.Â
 @Playanekes  @czullo ah hell instead of blowing up the plane they could take out an engine.. also downing an airliner would pose considerable risks to ground folk as well..Hate to see a Rolls Royce turbine up close and personal.
 @lee986321  @Playanekes  @czullo You make it sound easy but in reality it isn't.  The wings are full of fuel so think about that for a bit there.  Just using the Vulcan cannon trying to take out the engine will likely obliterate the wings causing it to lose hull integrity and snap off.  Especially you know how big 20mm's are?
 @Playanekes  @czullo There are no fighters stationed at McChord.  The US Navy is not authorized to deal with any domestic flights due to the Posse Comitatus Act.  So only the National Guard which is federally funded (mostly) are the ones that can intercept planes like this and not violate the Posse Comitatus Act.
Well, just my thoughts, but I'd rather have those planes go up there and find that they weren't needed, than to NOT send them up and find out they WERE needed, after it was too late... Â
However, if this turns out to be a hoax or somebody's idea of a "cute prank", then somebody needs a lesson in the realities of life - and a bill for reimbursement of at least some of the costs to the tax-payers.
Awesome photos of the plane..! Â Â I grew up near the AF base in Tucson, AZ - we woke up every morning to the sounds of those big planes warming up... very comforting in those "cold war" days..! Â Â Years later, I lived in Irvine, CA not too far from the base (El Toro), and I was delighted to have my "alarm clocks" back again..! Â Truly, the "sounds of freedom"..!
 @margay1 I bet the reimbursement for this episode would run in the range of a quarter million dollars for this one.
 @UtterReality  @margay1 At least $250,000. Â
 @washcomom  @UtterReality  @margay1 Money was already paid for.  That's why they have budgets every year.
Nice that they were allowed to do the intercept instead of being given the "stand down" order like they were on 9/11/01.
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 @Dr. Rawdog Hmm ya could be... a scorned ex boy friend usually kills the ex girlfriend and then himself so you may be right...
 @FreedomRocks  @Dr. RawdogÂ
Boys are devious little b**chs too.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/man-called-hoax-bomb-threat-avenge-wronged-girlfriend-pleads-guilty-article-1.1240296
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In fact, this is no doubt a copycat crime by someone who saw this case on the news this week. In which case this dirtbag needs to have the sentence doubled.
So. A lot of people are bent about the cost. I am sure (and hope) they do this kind of thing once in a while as a drill anyway; I mean, do you think the pilots and crew just sit around 24/7 playing black ops? And the birds just sit in the hangers with sparows nesting in the intakes? So this is just another unschedualed drill that will keep them in top shape. This IS their job, they do this often. Geeez; get over it.
A hoax? Hopefully they charge the person who called it in and makes them pay for the cost of the scramble.
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Two planes at $20,000 per hour plus the FBI response. I can see this costing taxpayers $100,000.
 @RalphCramden Technically, the planes on alert are already paid for, the pilots are already there, and the "alert mission" is already established. It just gave those guys something to do that night instead of watching Sportscenter.
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It's ok, we don't mind. ;)
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Part of your "Hometown Air Force".
@DadInPDX @RalphCramden Yep, already paid for with taxes that I've already paid. Since I'm one of the working folks I would like to see some of these jerks pay the money back plus some federal time (since I'm being generous with tax money). Just sayin...Â
As an aside, its pretty amazing that the F15 was conceived in the late 60's and entered service in the mid 70's.
This bird has served us well a very long time and is still highly capable with upgrades over the decades.
Seeing how long our air superiority fighters serve effectively I don't feel so bad about the cost of the current batch...F22s and JSF etc...
 @Jack_Bauer There was no point in replacing the F-15, other than maintenance upgrades and functional replacements. We're wasiting hundreds of billions of development of virtually useless fighter bombers that are going to shortly be replaced with drones anyway.
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United States: Only country to replace the most state-of-the-art fighter jets with the most state-of-the-art fighter jets.
 @poopstainmonkey The money is relative. The new birds are going to come in very handy for a very long time. Drones are not the answer to every question.
 @Jack_Bauer And you shouldn't... we get a huge amount of life out of those planes. Until recently, the 142nd had the oldest operational F15.
 @DadInPDX  @Jack_Bauer You can still go see the Old Lady, 73-0089, at Evergreen Aviation.  I'm glad it went there instead of AMARG.
 @DadInPDX  @Jack_Bauer Before that they had Phantoms, and those old Vietnam vets could use them to kick the crap out of the AF regulars in F-15s up in Washington. The F-15 is still the P-51 Mustang of our day, IMO.
 @Playanekes  @DadInPDX  @Jack_Bauer And before that the F-101 VooDoo. Black smoke belching, dish rattling beast. I grew up near PDX. I remember them all fondly. I also remember the Hueys dropping parachutes/streamers etc... down there. It was a lot different back in the day.
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 @Iast boyscout The next time you watch "The Hunted" listen for them in the war sequence.Somebody forgot to tell the ANG that they were filming a war scene on the river that day, and coincidentally, some ultralight pilot joked about flying his plane into a building, so the fuel jockey called the police and they scrambled the fighters.Apparently they went up the river hot and fast when they saw a giant fireball rising over the University of Portland... the film was shot in the old abandoned physical plant right there by it. You can hear them flying over in the movie 'cause there's no way to erase that sound.
 @Iast boyscout Gonna contact Tom Cruise?
 @Iast boyscoutÂ
Yes, an F-15 is an even better penis extender than a gun isn't it. Thanks for admitting what we all know but you gun nuts hate having anyone talk about. ROFL...Hahahahaha.
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Let the insults begin in 3,,2,,1,,,,as you all try to recover your deflated manhoods.....Hahahahaha
 @Iast boyscout LOL x 2
 @ThePosterFormerlyKnownAsPhredE Are you the same Phred from "over there"?
 @Iast boyscout Watch them take off sometime... makes me tear up. It's like listening to freedom.
 @Iast boyscout LOL
At least duct tape was not necessary.
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why scramble a State Air National Guard planes ( out of Oregon ) to escort a plane to sea tac? why didn,t the federal Air Force at McCord take the job.
 @onabudget https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J76vUFi_7PM
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 @onabudget Because it is legal to carry F-15s in Oregon as long as they are not concealed.
 @onabudget There is no alert birds stationed at McChord.  The nearest Fighter Wing is the 142nd Fighter Wing.  The 318th Fighter Interceptor was deactivated and their jets sent to the 142nd Fighter Wing.  The responsibilities of the 142nd Fighter Wing is all airspace from the Oregon border of California up to the Canadian border.  The 142nd did maintain a satellite unit for a year or so after 9/11 at McChord but was deactivated.  The only units at McChord is the 62nd Airlift Wing and the 446th Airlift Wing which neither of them maintains F-15, F-16's, or any other types of fighters.
 @Karadion  @onabudget Technician or DSG?
 @Karadion  @onabudget During Commanders Call, it's pretty cool to see people recognized for 20/30/40 years of service.  We don't get paid much for it, but damn, it's one of the best jobs I've ever had.
 @DadInPDX  @onabudget Neither.  I have a family member that is a technician AGR stationed there for the last 2 decades.
 @Karadion thanks for that info,,
And just what are the escort fighters to do should the situation escalate to an even higher threat?
 @Chester White They're alert birds which they are armed.  So use your imagination.
They make plane go boom....
 @JeepersÂ
That's right. Everyone who bitches about the security checks they have to go through before they get on a plane should think about that.
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And they need to make a serious example out of whoever is responsible for the hoax so we won't have more sick copycats on that as well.