Well, in the good old days, they would have ditched at all costs, I agree. However, the news reports that they communicated with their HQ and it was approved. I don't understand it. Must be this new age of peace and brotherhood.
3rd Reason to Land in China: You are having a very difficult time maintaining flight and have chosen to go to the nearest airfield like the flight manual says to do in such a situation? While making the incredibly incorrect assumption that the Chinese would act like a civilized nation?
No, you are exactly right. I guess the "secret orders" were to hit the fighter and head for Hainan.
Clever of them to hit that fighter just exactly right to rip off the entire radome but not damage the cockpit and kill the pilots, eh? Got to hand it to those Navy guys. They know just how to do the perfect mid-air.
US sacrificed 250+ civilians for a recon mission in 1983, so 24 servicemen is definetly not a problem
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You want to tell us all the "TRUTH" about KAL 007 then? Go ahead. I'd LOVE to hear it.
The Soviet Union has always been so careful about shooting aircraft down, after all.
http://www.nsa.gov/display/c130/cold_war.html "During the Cold War period of 1945-1977, a total of more than 40 reconnaissance aircraft were shot down. The secrecy of the reconnaissance programs prevented recognition of the slain military personnel at the time of the incidents."
Decent Overview? Try this one:
http://www.gsansom.demon.co.uk/vfaero/lists/shoots.htm Also:
http://asa.npoint.net/splanenew.htm The important thing to remember is that when the
US flew 20 miles off a coast, it was PROVOCATION.
When <cough>
ANY OTHER country flew 20 miles off a coast it was a validation of the "right to transit International Airspace".
Oh, yeah...one other important thing to remember. The
US DIDN'T SHOOT DOWN INTELLIGENCE GATHERING AIRCRAFT IN INTERNATIONAL AIRSPACE AND HOLD THE CREWS AS PRISONERS <cough McCone & Olmstead, seven months in the Lubianka prison, undergoing regular interrogations,
getting the sh*t beat out of them, and YES, I've talked with McCone personally cough>, unlike some other folks did.
We also don't <edit>
INTENTIONALLY<end-edit> shoot down
CIVILIAN AIRLINERS in our own airspace OR in International Airspace.
But that's just such a little detail, isn't it?
Have a nice day!
[This message has been edited by Toad (edited 04-05-2001).]