Why didn't the F-15Cs shoot down the stolen airliner out of Seattle?
Two F-15Cs scrambled to intercept a stolen Sea-Tac airliner from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport last Friday.
A Horizon Air employee stole the empty aircraft, flying it south of Seattle just before crashing into Ketron Island roughly 35 miles south of the airport.
The Horizon employee, 29-year-old Richard Russell, died in the crash.
But it remains unclear why military officials and the F-15 pilots agreed not to shoot down the aircraft, given concerns the pilot might deliberately crash it into a populated area.
"We cannot speculate the various considerations and decision-making processes that led to the decision to not shoot, but can confirm that they did not," Air Force Capt. Cameron Hillier, a NORAD spokesman, told Military.com on Wednesday. "While the fighters are armed during intercept missions as part of Operation Noble Eagle, the F-15 has a wide range of response options available, depending on the circumstances. They could shadow, intercept, escort or provide aid as required."
Hillier said officials at NORAD, the Air Force's air operations center, and officials "at many levels," including the Office of the Secretary of Defense, monitored the situation as it unfolded Friday evening.
"Through it all, there was a call not to take the shot," he said. An after-action report is in the works but will not be made public as it is classified, he added.
The fighters "were directed to fly supersonic to expedite the intercept," NORAD said in a statement following the incident. The pilots attempted to redirect the aircraft over the Pacific Ocean, it added..
NORAD said that while the situation at Sea-Tac was "unique," it is tasked with monitoring many intercepts every year as part of Operation Noble Eagle, the operation name for all air sovereignty and defense missions in North America.
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