Fighter Escort - any experiences?

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rpmsol

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On a fight over the Middle East some time back (July or Aug 1985), I looked out the window to see the flashing lights of a fighter plane, flying alongside (very close). To add to the awe (I was only 19), I saw lots of flashes on the ground in the distance, which I was told were explosions, associated with fighting on the Iran / Iraq border. Note that it was dark, but I could clearly make see the outline of the fighter plan as it was immuminated by the flashes from the plane I was on.

I am writing this question as I thought it was normal to have a fighter escort in such situations, as I only flew one such flight, and it was with an escort (i.e. a very small sample for me to draw any valid statistical conclusions from) - but when speaking with a Qantas pilot of over 30 years, earlier this week, he said in all his time of flying he had never experienced such a situation.

Has anybody else looked out the window to see a fighter plane flying along-side?

Cheers,
Paul.
 
I've seen them alongside for a while over the US. Nothing untoward, there happened to be a base nearby.
 
flying into LAX recently i was in business class and had a window. while looking out the LH window i noticed an AA 777 coming into land right along side of us. we were almost on the same glide slope and he was landing on a parralell runway. even the captain came on a pointed out the 777.

it looked really cool and it was close enough to get some good pictures, i can see the 777 really clearly.
 
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bigjobs said:
it looked really cool and it was close enough to get some good pictures, i can see the 777 really clearly.

Should you be using your camera on descent ;)

I really must get back into looking out of the window when I fly. I got so bored with a lot of regional/domestic travel that flying became a chore. I need to start enjoying it again - and that should start with a bit more looking out the window :)
 
bigjobs said:
flying into LAX recently i was in business class and had a window. while looking out the LH window i noticed an AA 777 coming into land right along side of us. we were almost on the same glide slope and he was landing on a parralell runway.

You should have tried the flight deck on approach to LAX, its an eye opener to say the least!

BTW its SOP to have a fighter escort when the bar runs dry on an Australian registered aircraft :D
 
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