Air Traffic Controllers Feared Non-responsive Plane Had Been Hijacked By BRIAN ROSS and JUSTIN GRANT Armed F-16s from the Wisconsin Air National Guard were on the runway and could have shot down the errant Northwest flight if the order had come, officials said today. Wisconsin Air National guard says F-16as were "prepared" to shoot down the plane if the order had come. (ABC News Photo Illustration) "As a force of last resort, NORAD is always prepared to do whatever is necessary," NORAD spokesperson Mike Kucharek told ABCNews.com. Air traffic controllers feared Northwest Flight 188, from San Diego to Minneapolis, might have been hijacked after its pilots failed to respond to radio transmissions for more than an hour. NORAD ordered at least two planes scrambled at the guard facility in Madison, Wisconsin. The NORAD spokesman... [read full story]
