Interdicted then destroyed! How to avoid...

[Thunderbird]

Just won a juicy (for me) 33,000 bounty at the nav beacon but got interdicted on the way to redeeming it. No cargo on board and the powerful ship just destroyed me in a few blasts. There was no way to avoid the interdiction (the blue circle was all over the place) and he started shooting me as soon as I came out of SC.

He can't have been after cargo (I had none), so what gives? Can these things be avoided?

[Cmdr Kharma]

Well I always used to go into SC with 4 pips in engines and 2 in Sys.....

If you get interdicted......Immediately throttle to zero and submit......

Throttle up.....

Then just keep boosting till your FSD is active again.....Then jump

Do not flip and scan anyone.......Just get the hell out......

Now a days I just submit and kill em......

[Casey Casem]

Set full pips to engines and boost away immediately. NPCs takes a moment to scan your ship. You have a small window of time to put as much distance as possible to break mass lock then engage FSD.
If it was a commander that interdicted you... He/she got some 'splain'n to do!

[Thunderbird]

Thank you, will try that.

So to summarise, throttle back to zero and wait for the interdiction to settle down. Then full boost and engage FSD as soon as able.

@Casey Casem - it was an NPC.

[blazingmaniac]

Hit x as soon as interdicted which will zero the throttle and it will say submitting. Then as others have said. 4 pips to engines 2 to shields and boots. Incidentally you can hit G to see what is attacking you just don't try and turn to scan it unless you are going to fight it. You could always boost away then turn flight assist off so you are escaping but could return fire. At your own risk of course

[Thunderbird]

What happens if you submit and stay put, but are carrying no cargo? I wasn't carrying any. Do they just check then let you go?

[blazingmaniac]

No idea to be honest. If you are hostile to the faction they will attack no matter what. Otherwise they might just scan then leave you be.

[de Carabas]

What happens if you submit and stay put, but are carrying no cargo? I wasn't carrying any. Do they just check then let you go?

It might be a security ship will tell you it's going to scan but in 1.2 doesn't actually bother.
More likely it's a maniac who will immediately attack you whether you have cargo or not.
If you are not in a ship that is able to defend itself, run.

[clivewil]

in general if you were interdicted by anyone other than security or military, expect an attack.

definitely don't wait around to find out, every second is vital if you're making a run for it.

[Walter]

Hit x as soon as interdicted which will zero the throttle and it will say submitting . . . Incidentally you can hit G to see what is attacking you . . .

Not always so and wouldn't work on my keyboard. Commanders always have the option of binding keystrokes to perform the tasks that suit them best.

4 pips to engines 2 to shields

I run without shields and have 2 to System and 4 to Engines. While I often get my backside tickled by a laser, the damage is usually much less than 10% before escaping. It's more profitable to fill the space normally taken by the Shield Generator with cargo and accept the repairs as running costs. It does teach you to be ready for interdictions and to land very carefully. You also need to ensure that your Power Plant and Power Distributor combination can deliver more than one boost before pausing for breath.
But you might need a great deal of overconfidence to fly without shields and it helps to work in sparsely populated regions.

What happens if you submit and stay put, but are carrying no cargo? I wasn't carrying any. Do they just check then let you go?

The AI is mis-named: it should be AU - Artificial Unintelligence. Treat all interdicting NPCs as sociopaths who don't really care if you're carrying anything. A lot will shoot to kill without warning, for no reason at all and without considering making a profit from you.
How do those fools make a living?