# You're VPOTUS and allies are about to shoot down Air Force One **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 15, 2015, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-vpotus-and-allies-are-about-to-shoot-down-air-force-one/740542 "2015-12-15T16:13:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-vpotus-and-allies-are-about-to-shoot-down-air-force-one/740542/21 "2015-12-16T12:05:32Z")
As I understand it, AF1 does not have escort fighters except when things are seriously dodgy. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-vpotus-and-allies-are-about-to-shoot-down-air-force-one/740542/22 "2015-12-16T14:34:51Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > As I understand it, AF1 does not have escort fighters except when things are seriously dodgy. I’ve read before that AF1 does not normally have escorts when it is flying over the US. I imagine it was probably escorted when President Bush visited Iraq, but for the most part I’d think presidential visits to sketchy areas are few and far between. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-vpotus-and-allies-are-about-to-shoot-down-air-force-one/740542/23 "2015-12-16T17:37:57Z")
> [@geological](#): > > On 9/11. a plane flight 77 was headed towards D.C. and someone asked Dick Cheney > about the :“Orders” > he wanted it to enter D.C’s restricted air space. yes. it’s transponder was off. but > NO Jets were sent up. > Hmmmmm. > Want to ask some questions? Yeah, I want to ask what your cite is. [My cite](http://www.afhso.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-110909-047.pdf) says there were planes in the air. ---
**Author:** ![rainy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rainy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainy)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-vpotus-and-allies-are-about-to-shoot-down-air-force-one/740542/24 "2015-12-16T20:21:34Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > As I understand it, AF1 does not have escort fighters except when things are seriously dodgy. Like in Missouri? I was on a commercial jet that had to wait to taxi out because AF1 was landing. Fighters followed alongside until it touched down. Would have been 1992 or 3. -rainy ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-vpotus-and-allies-are-about-to-shoot-down-air-force-one/740542/25 "2015-12-16T21:01:40Z")
I doubt if any country in the world has an SOP to shoot down a “normal airliner” that won’t or can’t answer a radio call. Shooting down the plane would be an insane act. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-vpotus-and-allies-are-about-to-shoot-down-air-force-one/740542/26 "2015-12-16T22:46:24Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I doubt if any country in the world has an SOP to shoot down a “normal airliner” that won’t or can’t answer a radio call. Shooting down the plane would be an insane act. Like Russia? KAL007? Or the U.K.? A number of times fighters here have been scrambled to unresponsive planes, and they will indeed shoot the plane down if so ordered. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-vpotus-and-allies-are-about-to-shoot-down-air-force-one/740542/27 "2015-12-16T22:53:31Z")
I didn’t say it would be insane for a pilot to shoot down a plane under orders. I said it was insane to issue the order. Oh, and when’s the last time the UK shot down an airliner? And KAL 007? What – 30 years ago. And I would argue the Soviets WERE insane. And frankly, no air force in the world would shoot down Air Force 1 without an ok from the US government. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-vpotus-and-allies-are-about-to-shoot-down-air-force-one/740542/28 "2015-12-16T23:02:06Z")
I’d be getting the Presidential Seal embroidered on my underwear. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-vpotus-and-allies-are-about-to-shoot-down-air-force-one/740542/29 "2015-12-17T01:49:11Z")
> [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > Depends, is Harrison Ford available? [“Donald, it was a MOVIE…!”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcYvXBqzWq8) ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-vpotus-and-allies-are-about-to-shoot-down-air-force-one/740542/30 "2015-12-17T04:33:34Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Yeah, I want to ask what your cite is. [My cite](http://www.afhso.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-110909-047.pdf) says there were planes in the air. Indeed, the DC Air National Guard fighters had had their weapons removed for a training exercise, and they were scrambled so fast that they went up unarmed. They knew that the order might come in to take down an airliner, and if it did, they had only one way of doing so. ---
**Author:** ![Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ac8455/32.png) [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Your_Great_Darsh_Face)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-vpotus-and-allies-are-about-to-shoot-down-air-force-one/740542/31 "2015-12-17T11:07:32Z")
The office (as in the political function, not the room) of the President is sacrosanct. The person of the President is not. He’s replaceable - and the whole point is he’s not some sort of divine-right ruler. America had one of those once and decided they were going to fuck that noise. If the circumstances are such that anyone else’s airliner would get shot down, Air Force One buys the farm. There will be another President tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-vpotus-and-allies-are-about-to-shoot-down-air-force-one/740542/32 "2015-12-17T12:58:08Z")
I’d ask the ally to please hold off and see where the plane goes. If it looks like it might crash in a remote region, let it. If it seems to be about to go down approaching a populated area, do what you have to do. At this point the president is likely already dead or beyond hope of saving, might as well minimize the body count however it needs to be done. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-vpotus-and-allies-are-about-to-shoot-down-air-force-one/740542/33 "2015-12-17T13:14:45Z")
I would mention that shooting down Air Force One because it doesn’t respond to radio is a bit of an overreaction, and ask them to consider waiting for a while. The worst that it can do is crash, and it is going to do that anyway. What’s the rush? It’s not like they are going to nuke somebody. I would say the same thing for any other airliner. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-vpotus-and-allies-are-about-to-shoot-down-air-force-one/740542/34 "2015-12-17T17:28:57Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I’d ask the ally to please hold off and see where the plane goes. If it looks like it might crash in a remote region, let it. If it seems to be about to go down approaching a populated area, do what you have to do. At this point the president is likely already dead or beyond hope of saving, might as well minimize the body count however it needs to be done. Yep, Veep or not, that’s the reasonable response. ETA: Plus, they’ve surely filed a flight plan, are they seriously deviating from that? ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-vpotus-and-allies-are-about-to-shoot-down-air-force-one/740542/35 "2015-12-17T19:58:00Z")
I’d explain to them that it’s called _Air Force_ 1 for a reason, and that any attack on it would be considered an attack on the military forces of the United States, and would draw an appropriate response. After they shot it down, I’d then order the Air Force to blow up something symbolic, but easily replaceable, in their country. There’s no way I’d allow any country to set a precedent for shooting down AF1, without an expectation of retaliation, as that might embolden some less savory countries to try to engineer a “regrettable situation” in which _they_ were allowed to shoot it down. I’d want it widely known that we even bombed Canada/France/Belgium/whoever for that shit. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-vpotus-and-allies-are-about-to-shoot-down-air-force-one/740542/36 "2015-12-17T23:33:25Z")
> [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > Depends, is Harrison Ford available? Forget Harrison Ford. If it ain’t Kurt Russell, it’s going down anyway. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-vpotus-and-allies-are-about-to-shoot-down-air-force-one/740542/37 "2015-12-17T23:36:34Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > I’d explain to them that it’s called _Air Force_ 1 for a reason, and that any attack on it would be considered an attack on the military forces of the United States, and would draw an appropriate response. After they shot it down, I’d then order the Air Force to blow up something symbolic, but easily replaceable, in their country. > > There’s no way I’d allow any country to set a precedent for shooting down AF1, without an expectation of retaliation, as that might embolden some less savory countries to try to engineer a “regrettable situation” in which _they_ were allowed to shoot it down. I’d want it widely known that we even bombed Canada/France/Belgium/whoever for that shit. Yep. We could explain to them, also, that they are allies, and an attack would make them our enemies. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2015, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-vpotus-and-allies-are-about-to-shoot-down-air-force-one/740542/38 "2015-12-18T00:32:38Z")
I have a feeling that no nation on earth (friend or enemy) would make the call to shoot down air force one. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2015, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-vpotus-and-allies-are-about-to-shoot-down-air-force-one/740542/39 "2015-12-18T00:52:43Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > What do you do? > > … Is Donald Trump POTUS? ---
**Author:** ![Vaevictis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f04885/32.png) [@Vaevictis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vaevictis)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2015, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-vpotus-and-allies-are-about-to-shoot-down-air-force-one/740542/40 "2015-12-18T02:26:43Z")
The country whose civilians and military are at risk due to an apparently out of control plane will do what the people running the country deem best for themselves, and – possibly, if it is a vigorous democracy – what coincides with the better interest of the masses in that country. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-vpotus-and-allies-are-about-to-shoot-down-air-force-one/740542.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-vpotus-and-allies-are-about-to-shoot-down-air-force-one/740542.md?page=3)