‘Where do we go?’ What it’s like being an airline pilot when missiles start crossing your flight path

Captains piloting passenger planes with hundreds of people on board have ultimate responsibility of deciding what to do when faced with disruptions. Composite: Guardian Design

Keith Tonkin has flown a Boeing 747 towards airspace where missiles were being fired, and knows the pressure pilots have been under this week.

“You’re stuck in that airplane until you land safely,” the veteran Australian pilot says.