Union Wants Pilots Trained in Gun Use
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP)--The union representing American Airlines pilots said Tuesday the threat of new terrorist acts should lead the government to expand a program to train pilots in the use of guns.
Over objections by the Bush administration last year, Congress approved the arming of pilots. The first group of 44 pilots completed the required training in April.
The Allied Pilots Association, which represents 11,000 pilots at American, said the government should expand the program to train and certify pilots to carry guns on board commercial airliners. The union cited last week's warning by the Homeland Security Department that al-Qaida could be planning more hijackings similar to those of September 2001.
``Arming the cockpit provides a meaningful deterrent and critical last line of defense against a terrorist attack,'' union president John Darrah said in a news release Tuesday.
The union said the training program has been slowed since the Transportation Security Administration ended training at a facility in Glynco, Ga., and shifted it to Artesia, N.M., 269 miles from the closest major airport in Albuquerque, N.M.
The union said weekly training classes are limited to 48 pilots and noted that pilots must pay their travel expenses and lodging to enroll in the voluntary training, which they must complete to carry a gun on board a plane.
Some members of Congress have proposed contracting out the training to private companies at several locations.
AP-NY-08-05-03 1948EDT
Copyright 2003, The Associated Press.
