Germany jets chase Turkish airliner after pilot goes silent

Germany scrambled two supersonic fighter jets to chase a Turkish airliner after its pilot went silent, an air force spokesman said Tuesday, three days after the incident, DPA reported.

The airliner had not been hijacked: its pilot had seemingly forgotten to change his radio to a frequency where he could receive air traffic control messages, said Ralf Schmitt of Fighter Squadron 74 based at Neuburg an der Donau airbase.

The Eurofghters flew alongside the airliner, trying to signal to its pilot as far as the German-Austrian border. Austrian jets took over the chase, and the airline pilot finally switched to the correct radio frequency over Graz, Austria, according to news reports.

Residents voiced anger at the previously unexplained supersonic boom from the pursuit over northern Munich on Saturday.

Schmitt said such pursuits took place in Germany once a month on average. The jets must see if the plane crew is alive and still in charge. Usually the reason for the radio silence is a failure to switch on or tune the radio system.


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