Considerations carrying on commercial aircraft

[MLH]

I'm not going to reread all these posts but I would say the first thing you should do is UNBUCKLE your seat belt!

 

[Skyviking]

Well, gee, I used to do the FAM thing occasionally until this past Oct. 31st, so my perspective must be skewed. Daydreaming about WTFTD while flying armed - for retired LEOs and civilians, anyway - is a waste of time that could be better spent planning/visualizing your response should things go amiss on your way down to the corner stop 'n rob to pick up doggie uppers or downers.

OTOH, Walter Mitty could have a field day with this topic - or is.

Have fun,
Skyviking

 

[teknical]

However improbable, the possibility still exists that somehow a gun may end up in your hands on-board an aircraft under siege. Just because you'll never carry one onboard doesn't mean you'll never use one on-board.

 

[CubDriver]

I think Glenn has brought up a good point. The first thing I would do, armed or not, would be to alert the authorities of the incident on bored. Although this probably already has been done, it wouldn’t be bad to do it again, and relay what you see, and have seen as the more information they have, the better they can make decisions. I am not sure where a 911 call from an air phone would be routed, but they would probably know who to call. If you used a cell phone you would probably get the dispatch center for whatever area your over, and they might not know the most expedient way to relay the information (try calling the 800 number for the airline your on).

If it were to come down to shooting, I know aircraft are built very well, I would not be worried about a rapid depressurization, as the chances of small arms fire causing this is very small. My primary concern would be with neutralizing the hijackers before they are able to respond (don’t jump into action without a plan/total picture). My second concern would be not injuring any pax. Third would be damage to aircraft systems/depressurization, if it’s a critical system its probably in triplicate on modern airliners, and once again the probability of crippling damage would be minimal.

Also I would know what the symptoms of Hypoxia were, and watch for them. It’s a great way to calm down the most rowdy pax.

 

[NorthernExtreme]

What I would do

I cannot carry on an aircraft, but that does not mean I wouldn't do anything. My first priority would be to protect the Piolet/ co-pilot and their cabin. I doubt I'd be alone. Once we had the cabin secure I'd go after the terrorists with everything I had. I wouldn't stop till I was dead or they were (I may stop if I was 150% sure they were contained/unconsious). If I were armed I would do the EXACT same thing except If a CLEAR shot presented itself I'd put 2 to the chest and 1 to the head.

Lets be real, the airlines have not put out a SOP for passenger actions during a hijack. The piolet know if one starts they have a whole plain full of people who are going to jump between them and the hijackers. They know their responsibility is to bring the plain safely to the ground. Why would they risk the safety of the plain unless they knew they had to. If you think the hijackers are going to follow a SOP you are mistaken, and time is going to be of the essence. Protect the cockpit, neutralize the hijackers. tie their dead/unconsious bodies up and get back to your seat for the earliest landing possible. Do what ever the piolet says once the hijackers are subdued.

Regards,