Two F-16s from the Colorado Air National Guard’s 140th Wing were scrambled from Buckley Air Force Base on Aug. 28 to escort a civilian international flight after an emergency on board, a spokeswoman said. NORAD alerted the wing of a level three disturbance—life-threatening situation—aboard a flight from Las Vegas to Frankfurt, Germany, around 6 p.m., Capt. Kinder Blacke said. The F-16s met up with the plane and shadowed it to Denver International Airport, where it landed, Blacke said. A spokesman for Condor Airlines in Germany told the Associated Press the pilot of the plane asked for assistance because of an unruly passenger. A Denver television news station reported the disturbance was caused by a model from Europe who wanted to be seated with her cat. The woman was arrested for overstaying her visa, the station reported.
NATO Scrambles Fighter in Newest Response to Russian Drones
Sept. 16, 2025
NATO scrambled its first fighter Sept. 13 under its new plan to bolster its defenses against Russian air incursions that was put into place after an array of Russian drones flew into Polish airspace last week, the officials from the alliance’s military command said.
