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NORAD Trains to Answer Terrorist Hijackings

Aired January 14, 2004 - 13:22   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the irony of this mission is definitely a point to make. When it comes to fighter pilots executing combat air patrol missions, a number of these pilots also fly for commercial airlines. These pilots are not only trained to shadow a possible hijacked aircraft, but they could be flying a hijacked aircraft. Colonel Jim Firth is the Florida Air National Guard's 125th Fighter Wing Commander. He is also a pilot for a major airline. He joins us live from Jacksonville, Florida.
Colonel, nice to have you with us.

COL. JIM FIRTH, FLORIDA AIR NATIONAL GUARD: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's start out with the fact that here you are, a military commander, specifically over this airwing, it's mission, you're also a commercial airline pilot; you bring a different perspective to this. I'm curious how you have seen the mindset change.

FIRTH: I do have somewhat of a unique perspective. I've been a military officer for almost 24 years. During that time, since the mid-1980s, I've flown F-15s and F-16s, both in the Air Force and Air National Guard. I've been heavily involved in the air defense mission, and my current job, during much of the time since 9/11, I've been the commander of an Air National Guard fighter wing. We're always involved in the air defense mission in the United States as well, and that gives me a great chance to see the training and the preparation that the pilots go through, as well as interface with the leader above us that make the decisions and the policies.

Also, as an airline pilot, I see it from that perspective as well, and I've also had a chance to work quite a bit with some of the air traffic controllers, and some of the other agencies involved that collectively provide the system that we have to try to make everything safe.

PHILLIPS: So I'm curious, let's say you were flying a commercial aircraft and something did happen, jets had to scramble, they're on your wing. Your passengers are freaking out. How would you as a colonel and a pilot of this commercial airliner address your passenger, explain to them or justify what's happening?

FIRTH: Well, the circumstances under which fighters are sent out to respond to a commercial airliner, they're very rare. It doesn't happen very often, but they're also very conservative. And if the airplanes are in a position where the passengers can see them and they're a factor, then most of the pilots would call attention to them, point them out, and explain that the circumstances are very conservative, and they're just one of the checks and balances in the system that are designed to make everything safer and more secure.

PHILLIPS: And it's not just commercial airliners that you are focused on, correct? I mean, there are other airborne threats. Crop dusters, that was a concern with weapons of mass destruction, correct?

FIRTH: That's correct. The military is just one piece of a very wide, far-encompassing system designed to make it as safe and secure as we can throughout the whole United States. The Air Force and the military really is really working hard to protect against all the potential threats out there, the ones we face now and ones we see in the future as well.

PHILLIPS: Well, I'm curious, how do you feel about guns in the cockpit?

FIRTH: Well, we realize it's a very controversial issue. But again, that's another one of the steps that's put in place to try to make everything more safe and more secure. The pilots that carry guns in the airlines have all been carefully screened, they go through very professional screening, and there's a lot of check and balances to make sure it's an effective, additive system that makes it more safe and more secure.

PHILLIPS: I've got to ask you this, colonel -- This article came out in "USA Today," and actually the chairman of the Airline Pilots Association Security Committee, said that the benefits of fighter jet escorts might not be worth the potential risks. How do you respond to that?

FIRTH: Well, since 9/11, a lot of different agencies have done a lot of work to put a lot of very effective, well thought-out procedures in place, and the communication between them, the working relationships, are much, much better. And so if an airliner is responded to by fighter planes, I think it's good to know that a lot of people are sharing information. All the information that's available is being given to the right people, and a lot of the decisions that are being made are made by the right people with good communication with everybody else involved.

PHILLIPS: Well, there are definitely a lot of layers, and we got an inside look at that. And we appreciate that. Colonel Jim Firth, thank you so much for your time.

FIRTH: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired January 14, 2004 - 13:22   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the irony of this mission is definitely a point to make. When it comes to fighter pilots executing combat air patrol missions, a number of these pilots also fly for commercial airlines. These pilots are not only trained to shadow a possible hijacked aircraft, but they could be flying a hijacked aircraft. Colonel Jim Firth is the Florida Air National Guard's 125th Fighter Wing Commander. He is also a pilot for a major airline. He joins us live from Jacksonville, Florida.
Colonel, nice to have you with us.

COL. JIM FIRTH, FLORIDA AIR NATIONAL GUARD: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's start out with the fact that here you are, a military commander, specifically over this airwing, it's mission, you're also a commercial airline pilot; you bring a different perspective to this. I'm curious how you have seen the mindset change.

FIRTH: I do have somewhat of a unique perspective. I've been a military officer for almost 24 years. During that time, since the mid-1980s, I've flown F-15s and F-16s, both in the Air Force and Air National Guard. I've been heavily involved in the air defense mission, and my current job, during much of the time since 9/11, I've been the commander of an Air National Guard fighter wing. We're always involved in the air defense mission in the United States as well, and that gives me a great chance to see the training and the preparation that the pilots go through, as well as interface with the leader above us that make the decisions and the policies.

Also, as an airline pilot, I see it from that perspective as well, and I've also had a chance to work quite a bit with some of the air traffic controllers, and some of the other agencies involved that collectively provide the system that we have to try to make everything safe.

PHILLIPS: So I'm curious, let's say you were flying a commercial aircraft and something did happen, jets had to scramble, they're on your wing. Your passengers are freaking out. How would you as a colonel and a pilot of this commercial airliner address your passenger, explain to them or justify what's happening?

FIRTH: Well, the circumstances under which fighters are sent out to respond to a commercial airliner, they're very rare. It doesn't happen very often, but they're also very conservative. And if the airplanes are in a position where the passengers can see them and they're a factor, then most of the pilots would call attention to them, point them out, and explain that the circumstances are very conservative, and they're just one of the checks and balances in the system that are designed to make everything safer and more secure.

PHILLIPS: And it's not just commercial airliners that you are focused on, correct? I mean, there are other airborne threats. Crop dusters, that was a concern with weapons of mass destruction, correct?

FIRTH: That's correct. The military is just one piece of a very wide, far-encompassing system designed to make it as safe and secure as we can throughout the whole United States. The Air Force and the military really is really working hard to protect against all the potential threats out there, the ones we face now and ones we see in the future as well.

PHILLIPS: Well, I'm curious, how do you feel about guns in the cockpit?

FIRTH: Well, we realize it's a very controversial issue. But again, that's another one of the steps that's put in place to try to make everything more safe and more secure. The pilots that carry guns in the airlines have all been carefully screened, they go through very professional screening, and there's a lot of check and balances to make sure it's an effective, additive system that makes it more safe and more secure.

PHILLIPS: I've got to ask you this, colonel -- This article came out in "USA Today," and actually the chairman of the Airline Pilots Association Security Committee, said that the benefits of fighter jet escorts might not be worth the potential risks. How do you respond to that?

FIRTH: Well, since 9/11, a lot of different agencies have done a lot of work to put a lot of very effective, well thought-out procedures in place, and the communication between them, the working relationships, are much, much better. And so if an airliner is responded to by fighter planes, I think it's good to know that a lot of people are sharing information. All the information that's available is being given to the right people, and a lot of the decisions that are being made are made by the right people with good communication with everybody else involved.

PHILLIPS: Well, there are definitely a lot of layers, and we got an inside look at that. And we appreciate that. Colonel Jim Firth, thank you so much for your time.

FIRTH: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com