Comments by "Sar Jim" (@sarjim4381) on "The MiG that "Invaded" the West" video.

There was considerable apprehension with the flight of this MiG-23 since NATO intelligence believed it could carry a nuclear tipped air to air missile. When the F-15's confirmed there was no underwing ordinance, things were slightly more relaxed. The original hope was the aircraft would crash into the sea, but it was all guesswork without knowing how many pounds of fuel the aircraft started with. NATO air traffic controllers frantically contacted their Polish counterparts, but they had no information about the movements of Soviet fighters flying out of Poland. NATO tried contacting the Soviets by phone, teletype, and on all the international aeronautical emergency radio frequencies. It's now know that Soviet controllers heard these calls, made in English and Russian, but they certainly couldn't communicate with NATO without authorization from their superiors. The many layered and convoluted command system of the Soviet fighter command meant no one was found that would authorize communications with the west until well after the MiG had crashed. Luckily for the Soviets (although not lucky for the occupant of the farmhouse), the plane crashed in Belgium and not France. France was prepared to make a much larger diplomatic stink than Belgium.
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