CATO on armed pilots

[cuchulainn]

http://www.cato.org/dispatch/02-20-03d.html

Airline Pilots May Soon Be Armed

Airline Pilots May Soon Be Armed
The Washington Post reports, "In the first detailed plan for arming commercial airline pilots, the federal government said yesterday that it will soon begin training that would, as soon as next month, allow a limited number of pilots to carry holstered handguns while flying. A task force of the Transportation Security Administration recommended yesterday that pilots who want to carry guns undergo extensive psychological and medical checks and attend five days of classroom and firearms training before being issued guns."

Cato Insitute Senior Editor Gene Healy and Senior Fellow Robert A. Levy argue for this approach to airline security in the "Restoring the Right to Bear Arms" section of the Cato Handbook for Congress. They write: "Just as armed citizens can deter aggression on our city streets, they can do so in our nation's skies. On September 11, 2001, a few hijackers armed with box cutters were able to hold scores of airline passengers at bay, secure in the knowledge that American airplanes are gun-free zones. But when we turn planes, airports, schools, and workplaces into gun-free zones, we also turn them into criminal-safe zones. If on the other hand we make it nearly certain that someone will be armed on every commercial flight, the enemies of liberty will have second thoughts about using American aircraft as weapons of mass destruction.

"An armed pilots program would be strictly voluntary. It would require extensive background screening and psychological testing, as well as classroom and practical training, roughly equivalent to what sky marshals would receive. After all, we now allow weapons on planes if they're carried by sheriffs, FBI and Secret Service agents, postal inspectors, and bodyguards of foreign dignitaries. If those risks are acceptable, then let's arm pilots who can protect all passengers' lives. Better yet, leave it up to the individual airlines. They own the property and they can set the rules.

"For too long, elite opinion in America has been implacably opposed to armed self-defense. The underlying philosophy, expressed by Pete Shields, former president of Handgun Control, is that 'the best defense is . . . no defense-give them what they want.' After September 11, that philosophy is no longer valid, if it ever was."

 

[El Tejon]

I'm still waiting for the armed passenger program. Of course, if we had that, there would be no need to spend all the money on TSA and build little empires for Congresspersons.

 

[TallPine]

It would require extensive background screening and psychological testing,

This alone is enough to keep me from ever flying again - EVER.

If these guys aren't sane and competent enough to handle a simple handgun with maybe three controls, they sure as hell aren't comptent to be piloting a jet airliner.

 

[Blackhawk]

"For too long, elite opinion in America has been implacably opposed to armed self-defense. The underlying philosophy, expressed by Pete Shields, former president of Handgun Control, is that 'the best defense is . . . no defense-give them what they want.' After September 11, that philosophy is no longer valid, if it ever was."

It never was, and this is a baby step forward....

 

[hammer4nc]

The devil's in the details...Admiral James Loy (TSA head) had come out against arming pilots, as did Secretary Mineta. More recently, TSA has been moved to Homeland Security (I think), and I don't know what Tom Ridge's position on this is. Anyone?

This latest story is just a "task force" report. I can imagine an unwilling director creating a process that is so obnoxious and intrusive, that most volunteer pilots will be scared off. Imagine some senior pilots being denied carry privileges, and perhaps have their licenses called into question, for some minor event in their past, brought to light 'cause of their handgun application! Yet the agency director could proclaim to congress and everyone that the pilots "could" be armed, but the program is "unpopular". Stranger things have happened.

 

[publius]

If these guys aren't sane and competent enough to handle a simple handgun with maybe three controls, they sure as hell aren't comptent to be piloting a jet airliner.

Believe it or not, they actually do have to be sane. I'm a former flight instructor, and back when I last knew the rules, you had to swear to be a "person of good moral character" in order to get an Air Transport Pilot license.

As for competence, during training, that pilot has to talk on one radio while keeping the other tuned to the next frequency he's going to need, or to the emergency frequency. He has to tune in and identify navigational aids, and use them in conjunction with his instruments to fly the plane down to within 200 feet of the ground. He has charts and approach plates in his lap, and he has to read those. He's also busy writing down weather information, radio frequencies, and air traffic control instructions. Meanwhile, he's busy monitoring the health of the engines and other systems, some of which his nasty flight instructor is disabling from time to time, instigating a whole new set of procedures from the checklist which is sharing his lap with the charts, plates, pad and pencil, and, at night, flashlight.

Then he lands, gets in his car, and it's illegal for him to set the cruise control and call his wife on the cell. Too distracting.

 

[Blackhawk]

Ah, such memories, publius.

Despite all that, I passed my ATP written and check ride anyway. Don't know what the FAA did to confirm that I was a "person of good moral character."

 

[answerguy]

the Transportation Security Administration recommended yesterday that pilots who want to carry guns undergo extensive psychological

Thank goodness that they are going to do psychological testing before allowing pilots to carry guns on a plane . Imagine the damage an unstable pilot could do to his passengers if he had a gun. SCARY!