Drizzt
Member
University Wire
May 1, 2003, Thursday
SECTION: COLUMN
LENGTH: 613 words
HEADLINE: Arming pilots isn't safer for flyers
BYLINE: By Caitlin O'Farrell, Mustang Daily
SOURCE: California Poly State U.
DATELINE: San Luis Obispo, Calif.
BODY:
We thought we were safe. With increased security measures, X-rayed baggage and metal detectors checking every inch of our bodies, now airline pilots may be packing heat behind cockpit doors, making an easy target and tool for hijackers and suicide missions.
Come on, passengers can't even bring nail clippers in their carry-on luggage.
Last week, the first graduating class of 44 armed airline pilots took to the skies toting 40-caliber semi-automatics in reinforced lock boxes.
Many of the rules and regulations set forth by the Transportation Safety Administration to control these gun-bearing pilots have been criticized. They are thought to be so intrusive that the measures begin to hamper safety instead of improving it.
The pilots, who originally numbered 48, were volunteers selected on the basis of diversity of gender, age, experience, corporation and type of aircraft. Four officers were released because of background checks.
They spent a week in Glyncoe, Ga., enduring a concentrated training experience including marksmanship and non-lethal self-defense before they were sworn in as federal flight deck officers.
Although I do agree that these pilots have been properly trained, psychologically tested and screened thoroughly, I can't help but worry what threats this will pose to passengers' safety.
Can I even count how many movies I've seen where some bad guy knocks out the pilot and dresses up in his clothes and steals all his stuff? No, and while I know that is only Hollywood, it seems people these days are getting more and more crazy ideas from the movies.
Now any pilot or crewmember's luggage will scream, 'steal me.' Can you imagine the security nightmare this could bring about? Especially since the thief will be beyond any safety measures in place to protect us.
The airlines and the TSA have concerns about this new measure because they could be held liable if the firearm inadvertently injures the pilot, a passenger or part of the crew.
Keeping the gun in a lock box is a dangerous move that is intended to make airline customers believe that the firearm is safely locked away. This measure is deeply opposed by the pilots.
They oppose it with good reason.
It turns pilots into targets without allowing them a way to defend themselves. If the guns were carried on the person, at least they would always know where it was and would be able to access it quickly if an incident did occur.
The TSA sees this as an extreme security risk because the gun could in fact be wrestled away from the pilot or be misfired in the cockpit. But this form of safety is much better than the government's last resort plan of having an F-16 shoot a hijacked airliner out of the sky, killing all the innocent souls aboard.
A recent Department of Justice study of lost and stolen weapons in the FBI ranks showed that not a single theft occurred while the weapon was secured in the holster on a person. The study, spanning 30 years, revealed that the majority of the weapons lost or stolen were placed in gym bags, handbags or briefcases.
Five years from now, as many as one in three U.S. pilots could be carrying weapons on the flight deck. Since passengers are not supposed to know which pilots are armed, it is up to luck of the draw where a gun could end up.
After the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, everyone is concerned about the safety of air transportation, but whether this new measure will discourage or encourage passengers to take flight once again is still a mystery.
I will continue to fly, but I know I will be wary every time I see a pilot board the plane carrying a locked briefcase.
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While Caitlin does not seem overly impressed with the idea of armed pilots, I think there were several good points. Most importantly, the issue that it would be better for the pilots (to say nothing of the passengers) to have the firearm on their person, rather than in a lockbox.
May 1, 2003, Thursday
SECTION: COLUMN
LENGTH: 613 words
HEADLINE: Arming pilots isn't safer for flyers
BYLINE: By Caitlin O'Farrell, Mustang Daily
SOURCE: California Poly State U.
DATELINE: San Luis Obispo, Calif.
BODY:
We thought we were safe. With increased security measures, X-rayed baggage and metal detectors checking every inch of our bodies, now airline pilots may be packing heat behind cockpit doors, making an easy target and tool for hijackers and suicide missions.
Come on, passengers can't even bring nail clippers in their carry-on luggage.
Last week, the first graduating class of 44 armed airline pilots took to the skies toting 40-caliber semi-automatics in reinforced lock boxes.
Many of the rules and regulations set forth by the Transportation Safety Administration to control these gun-bearing pilots have been criticized. They are thought to be so intrusive that the measures begin to hamper safety instead of improving it.
The pilots, who originally numbered 48, were volunteers selected on the basis of diversity of gender, age, experience, corporation and type of aircraft. Four officers were released because of background checks.
They spent a week in Glyncoe, Ga., enduring a concentrated training experience including marksmanship and non-lethal self-defense before they were sworn in as federal flight deck officers.
Although I do agree that these pilots have been properly trained, psychologically tested and screened thoroughly, I can't help but worry what threats this will pose to passengers' safety.
Can I even count how many movies I've seen where some bad guy knocks out the pilot and dresses up in his clothes and steals all his stuff? No, and while I know that is only Hollywood, it seems people these days are getting more and more crazy ideas from the movies.
Now any pilot or crewmember's luggage will scream, 'steal me.' Can you imagine the security nightmare this could bring about? Especially since the thief will be beyond any safety measures in place to protect us.
The airlines and the TSA have concerns about this new measure because they could be held liable if the firearm inadvertently injures the pilot, a passenger or part of the crew.
Keeping the gun in a lock box is a dangerous move that is intended to make airline customers believe that the firearm is safely locked away. This measure is deeply opposed by the pilots.
They oppose it with good reason.
It turns pilots into targets without allowing them a way to defend themselves. If the guns were carried on the person, at least they would always know where it was and would be able to access it quickly if an incident did occur.
The TSA sees this as an extreme security risk because the gun could in fact be wrestled away from the pilot or be misfired in the cockpit. But this form of safety is much better than the government's last resort plan of having an F-16 shoot a hijacked airliner out of the sky, killing all the innocent souls aboard.
A recent Department of Justice study of lost and stolen weapons in the FBI ranks showed that not a single theft occurred while the weapon was secured in the holster on a person. The study, spanning 30 years, revealed that the majority of the weapons lost or stolen were placed in gym bags, handbags or briefcases.
Five years from now, as many as one in three U.S. pilots could be carrying weapons on the flight deck. Since passengers are not supposed to know which pilots are armed, it is up to luck of the draw where a gun could end up.
After the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, everyone is concerned about the safety of air transportation, but whether this new measure will discourage or encourage passengers to take flight once again is still a mystery.
I will continue to fly, but I know I will be wary every time I see a pilot board the plane carrying a locked briefcase.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
While Caitlin does not seem overly impressed with the idea of armed pilots, I think there were several good points. Most importantly, the issue that it would be better for the pilots (to say nothing of the passengers) to have the firearm on their person, rather than in a lockbox.
