Pilot thought jets would shoot him down
WASHINGTON (AP) — The pilot of a plane that was intercepted by the military earlier this month said Tuesday he thought he was going to get "shot out of the sky."
"There was no doubt in my mind," said Hayden L. "Jim" Sheaffer, who also revealed that he was handcuffed and interrogated by federal authorities when he subsequently landed his single-engine Cessna aircraft May 11 in nearby Frederick, Md.
Appearing on NBC's "Today" show with his lawyer, Sheaffer, who has had his pilot's license suspended, held his thumb and index finger about an inch apart to dramatize how close he thought he was to being shot down. [...]