NBC plane gets escort

SALT LAKE CITY -- Two F-16 fighter jets escorted a private plane carrying NBC Sports' Olympic leadership when it lost radio contact with air traffic controllers after taking off at Salt Lake International Airport.

NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol, NBC Sports president Ken Schanzer, NBC Olympics co-chairman Dennis Swanson, and announcers Jim McKay, Hannah Storm and Dan Hicks were heading to the East Coast on the Gulfstream jet Wednesday after a four-day Winter Olympics production seminar in Salt Lake City.

"During our seminar we had lengthy discussions about Olympic security," Ebersol said. "So it was enormously encouraging to see how quickly and forcefully the Air Force responded to the unusual behavior of our aircraft."

The jet lost radio contact after takeoff and was circling the Great Salt Lake when it was met by the F-16s. The fighter jets guided the Gulfstream to Ogden airport.

FAA air traffic manager Tom Brown said the jet "was not forced down. The F-16s asked if they could provide any assistance because the private jet had some radio difficulty."

"The aircraft had problems receiving transmissions even before taxiing," Brown said. "The jet left anyway."

The radio was repaired after about a two-hour wait, and the NBC group arrived in New York shortly after 12 a.m. Thursday.