A B24 FLIES IN PROX OF A B747 APCHING MSP FOR PUBLICITY PURPOSES. THE PIC OF THE B747 WAS ON HIS LAST FLT AND THE AIRLINE; HIS SON AND HIS FRIENDS COORDINATED WITH ATC FOR THIS UNREHEARSED FORMATION FLT.

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AIRLINE'S DIRECTOR OF MARKETING CAME TO US (THE FOUNDATION) AND ASKED US TO ESCORT IN FLT XXX; A B747 TO HONOR THE CAPT WHO WAS RETIRING. CAPT HAS BEEN FLYING THIS B24 LIBERATOR FOR SEVERAL YRS AND IS A GOOD MAN AND A FRIEND; SO I AGREED TO DO IT SINCE IT WAS APPROVED BY THE AIRLINE; BRIEFED BY BOTH CREWS AND COORDINATED BY ATC. WE INTERCEPTED THE B747 OVER THE INBOUND VOR AT 3000 FT INSTEAD OF THE NORMAL 8000 FT ARR HT. FLEW WITH THEM TO MSP AND DID A LOW APCH. THERE IS; OF COURSE; A SPD DIFFERENTIAL BTWN A B24 AND B747; AS THERE IS MUCH WAKE TURB SO WE NEVER WERE CLOSE TO THE B747; 1500 FT MAYBE AT THE CLOSEST. SINCE IT WAS PRE-BRIEFED AND SET UP BY AIRLINE MGMNT; EVEN PAID FOR BY THEM; I NEVER KNEW THAT ANY OF THIS WAS ILLEGAL. IT MAY HAVE BEEN OUT OF THE ORDINARY; BUT WE ARE QUITE USED TO FLYING FORMATION WITH OUR 2 WWII BOMBERS. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 407998: MY POS IS INTL RELIEF CAPT ON THE B747 ACFT. SINCE I AM TYPE RATED IN THE ACFT; I ACT AS THE PIC WHEN I RELIEVE THE REGULAR CAPT. ON THE SECOND SEGMENT; KIX-MSP; I WAS THE PIC FOR THE LAST 2 HRS AND 48 MINS. HOWEVER; THE RETIRING CAPT TOOK OVER AS THE DSCNT WAS INITIATED SO THAT HE COULD ACCOMPLISH THE LNDG. I WENT BACK TO THE CABIN AND TOOK A SEAT IN THE FIRST CLASS SECTION FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE FLT. WHILE WE WERE ON FINAL APCH AT ABOUT 3000 FT; I WAS SURPRISED TO SEE A B24 FLYING A VERY LOOSE FORMATION ON OUR R WING. THE B24 SOON DISAPPEARED OUT OF MY VIEW TOWARD THE FRONT OF OUR ACFT. I HAD NO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE THAT THIS 'FORMATION' WAS TO OCCUR. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 408132: WE WERE ON RADAR VECTORS FROM MINNEAPOLIS APCH CTL. AT THAT TIME I BECAME AWARE THAT ANOTHER ACFT; A WORLD WAR II B24 'LIBERATOR' WAS BEING VECTORED TOWARD US. THE WX WAS VERY CLR. I SPOTTED THE OTHER ACFT ABOVE US AT OUR 11 O'CLOCK POS AT AN ESTIMATED 8-10 MI DISTANCE AND ON AN APPARENTLY RECIPROCAL COURSE FROM OURS. I POINTED IT OUT TO THE CAPT AND THE FO; WHO ALSO SAW IT THEN. THE B24 STARTED A L TURN WHICH PLACED IT SOMEWHERE BEHIND US UPON COMPLETION. DURING THIS PERIOD; IT BECAME APPARENT THAT THE B24 AND MINNEAPOLIS APCH CTL WERE ATTEMPTING TO POS THE B24 INTO POS OFF OUR R SIDE AND PARALLEL WITH OUR FLT PATH USING A VARIATION OF A MIL 'POINT-PARALLEL' RENDEZVOUS; A PROC I HAVE FLOWN AT LEAST 200 TIMES; SO I WAS RELATIVELY COMFORTABLE WITH THIS PARTICULAR MANEUVER. ABOUT THIS TIME WE WERE INSTRUCTED BY EITHER APCH CTL OR ELSE BY THE B24 CREW TO CONTACT THE B24 CREW ON AN ADDITIONAL VHF RADIO AND FREQ. WHEN THE FO DID SO; THE B24 CREW INFORMED US THAT THEY WERE ATTEMPTING TO STATION-KEEP ON OUR R SIDE TO TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS; BUT WERE HAVING PROBS BECAUSE THE B24 WAS SPD-LIMITED. WE WERE ASKED TO SLOW DOWN TO HELP WITH THIS. THE CAPT REDUCED SPD ABOUT 10 KIAS TO ACCOMMODATE THE OTHER ACFT. THE DISCUSSION THE CAPT AND FO HAD VIA RADIO WITH THE B24 CREW REVEALED THAT IT WAS A PRE-ARRANGED RENDEZVOUS BEING FLOWN BY ACQUAINTANCES OF THE CAPT AS A SALUTE TO HIM ON HIS LAST COMMERCIAL FLT PRIOR TO RETIRING. IT WAS ALSO EVIDENT BY NOW THAT THIS OP HAD BEEN COORDINATED BY MY CAPT'S SON -- ONE OF THE CAPTS IN OUR COCKPIT -- WHO WAS NOW URGING US TO CONTINUE. APCH CTL AND THEN THE MINNEAPOLIS TWR TOLD US WE WERE CLRED TO FLY OVER THE MINNEAPOLIS ARPT IN A PARALLEL CONFIGN (EXCEPT THAT BY NOW THE B24 APPEARED TO HAVE 1/4 TO 1/2 MI FORWARD SEPARATION AND A 1/2 MI LATERAL SEPARATION AND PERHAPS 400 OR 500 FT VERT SEPARATION; ALL OF WHICH MADE IT EASY TO AVOID HIM). WE WERE TOLD THAT AFTER PASSING THE AIRFIELD WE WOULD EACH SEPARATE AND CLB. THE B24 WOULD PROCEED STRAIGHT AHEAD; AND WE WOULD COME L TO PICK UP VECTORS TO A LNDG RWY. THE FO VERBALLY OBJECTED TO THIS ENTIRE MATTER BUT CONTINUED HIS DUTIES. I; TOO; WAS UNEASY WITH THESE EVENTS; BUT I NEVER FELT ANYONE WAS ENDANGERED DURING THIS OP. THE B24 NEVER CLOSED TO LESS THAN DISTANCES COMMONLY USED IN PARALLEL RWY PROCS; AND THE WX WAS EXCELLENT. THERE SEEMED TO BE CONSIDERABLE EVIDENCE THAT THIS ENTIRE PROC HAD BEEN COORDINATED BY AIRLINE;MINNEAPOLIS APCH CTL; THE MSP TWR; AND AN OBSERVER CAPT WHO WAS IN THE JUMP SEAT WATCHING THIS HAPPEN. IN SHORT; IT APPEARED TO HAVE BEEN COORDINATED THROUGH ALL PARTIES INVOLVED -- EXCEPT THE THREE PRIMARY B747 CREW MEMBERS. I WAS IRRITATED AT THE TIME THAT THIS RENDEZVOUS WAS OCCURRING WITHOUT PRIOR COORD WITH US; BUT THAT OTHER AGENCIES AND THE B24 CREW KNEW OF IT. EVEN A CREW WAS FILMING IT. WE WERE NEVER ADVISED OF THE PROCS TO BE USED NOR EVEN BRIEFED THAT THE RENDEZVOUS WOULD BE CONDUCTED. INTER-PLANE COMS WERE DIFFICULT WITH APCH CTL BEING USED ON ONE RADIO AND INTER-PLANE BEING USED ON ANOTHER. IT SHOULD BE NOTED; TOO; THAT THIS WAS HAPPENING AT THE END OF AN 11 DAY-LONG TRIP AND AT THE END OF AN 11+ HR FLT; AND WE WERE ALL TIRED. I WAS ALSO CONCERNED THAT WE WERE WRONGING OUR CUSTOMERS BY EXTENDING THEIR FLT TIME BY SEVERAL MINS BEYOND WHAT WAS NECESSARY AND THAT THEY MIGHT BE STARTLED BY AN UNEXPECTED MISSED APCH. TO THAT END; I DID MAKE A PA ANNOUNCEMENT TO THEM THAT WE WOULD BE 'OVERFLYING THE ARPT AND THEN MANEUVERING FOR A LNDG ON A FAVORABLE RWY' ABOUT 5 MINS FROM THE ARPT. I CERTAINLY WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE AND INTEND TO SEEK EXPLANATIONS FROM MY AIRLINE'S FLT OPS DEPT AND ALL OTHER PARTIES WHO COORDINATED IT AS TO WHY THEY FELT IT WAS APPROPRIATE TO LEAVE AN INVOLVED FLC OUT OF THE PLANNING LOOP. 'TO SURPRISE AND HONOR A RETIRING CAPT' IS NOT AN APPROPRIATE ANSWER. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 407948: I TOLD CAPT THAT THIS WAS A BAD IDEA; THAT I DID NOT WANT TO DO THIS. I TRIED SEVERAL TIMES TO CONVINCE HIM IT WAS NOT A GOOD THING TO DO THIS. HE KEPT ON. I TRIED ABOUT 6-7 TIMES TO ABORT THIS JOIN- UP. TRIED TO GET SO TO JOIN IN TO TELL CAPT THAT THIS WAS NOT THE THING TO DO. NO AVAIL. I CONSIDERED TAKING PLANE AWAY BUT WAS AFRAID OF A COCKPIT TUSSLE OVER CTLS WITH AN UNBRIEFED PLANE NEARBY. CONSIDERED VERBALLY WAIVING OFF B24 BUT ATC AND B24 WERE UNAWARE THAT I WAS TRYING TO ABORT THIS ACTIVITY. I WAS AFRAID RESULTING COM WOULD LEAD TO CONFUSION AND DANGER. THE COMPANY WAS INSANE TO APPROVE THIS. OUR FLT OPS WAS NOT EVEN TOLD. ATC WAS INSANE TO GO ALONG. DISPATCH WAS INSANE. I LATER LEARNED THAT NOT EVEN VICE PRESIDENT OF FLT OPS KNEW ABOUT THIS. HOW COULD A PUBLIC RELATIONS VICE PRESIDENT AGREE TO THIS INSANITY AND NOT CALL THE CHIEF PLT. I TOLD MY CHIEF PLT THE WHOLE STORY ABOUT THE JOIN-UP AS SOON AS WE LANDED. I'VE TOLD PLT'S ORGANIZATION SAFETY AND PLT'S ORGANIZATION LEGAL. THIS SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN. HOW COULD MGMNT; ATC; AND DISPATCH AND THE B24 COMPANY HAVE THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD THING. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 408146: I FLY A MOONEY CHASE PLANE FOR TWO TOURING WWII BOMBERS. THE B24 HANDLED OUR COMS WITH ATC. THE B24 HAD BEEN ASSIGNED A DISCRETE FREQ BY ATC. AS WE APCHED THE IMMEDIATE ARPT AREA I HEARD NO RESPONSE BY ATC TO THE B24 CALLS ON THE DISCRETE FREQ. I THEREFORE TUNED ALSO TO THE DESIGNATED FREQ FOR THE RWY OVER WHICH WE WERE TO FLY. I HEARD NO COMS TO US BY ATC ON THAT FREQ EITHER. I DID NOT CONSIDER THERE TO BE ANY HAZARDOUS ELEMENTS INVOLVED BUT I DID HAVE CONCERN OVER NOT HEARING COMS RESPONSE BY ATC.