Quote:
Everyone on the plane is dead anyway
That is the reality of this scenario. Jet fighters can force movement of aircraft by lowering their landing gear and bouncing the wings. Give em a few nudges and jam their guidance systems. If the hijacker does not comply the people are dead anyway. They will be killed in a crash or executed to meet some demand. If it's over a populated area then shooting it down is worse. Let it crash. Force it into a river, a field? If the target they are going for is high value/importance, like a nuclear plant, a hydroelectric damn, the pentagon - shoot it down and take mass casualties in the fallout of the debris and then an uncontrolled crash versus a single target the plane would hit otherwise. Too many variables but in all, the conclusive reality is, they are already dead at that point AND the measures to prevent hijackings take a front seat. Profile, finger print, list high risk targets, close borders etc.... :D