When did carrying become forbidden on Airplanes?
- Thread starter Oyeboten
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kd7nqb
Member
I think by the time that commercial aviation was accessible to the masses right to carry had already been restricted. The shall issue movement didnt really kick off until the 80's.
The Bushmaster
Member
I was allowed to carry up to 1968. After that it had to be in my checked baggage.
geekWithA.45
Moderator Emeritus
Prohibitions of arms in carry on luggage began in the late 60's, early 70's. I remember metal detectors being a big deal at the time.
Now it's technoStrip searches.
Now it's technoStrip searches.
Packman
Member
Did someone say Technostrip!?
...Sorry, Mods. I couldn't resist. Remove if you must.
...Sorry, Mods. I couldn't resist. Remove if you must.
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geekWithA.45
Moderator Emeritus
Well, the thing is, civil libertarians of that era were concerned that they were on the precipice of a slippery slope.
They were right.
They were right.
I can't find a reference but I do know that years ago I read that up until either the late 50s or the very early 60s every British Overseas Airways flight had a handgun in the cockpit as part of the normal cockpit gear.
The British were not always as irrational about firearms in the recent past as they are today!
The British were not always as irrational about firearms in the recent past as they are today!
Thanks...
I thought I remembered that well into the 1960s, people could CCW or Carry-On Firearms.
LEO, Prisoner Transport, G-Men, Jewelry Salesmen, or anyone else.
No one would have known anyway, untill the advent of the force-funnel lines through the Metal Detectors was begun.
Yeah...the 'Hijackings to Cuba' ( which were probably intel projects anyway, or even if not, then resulted from them regardless, ) and then, I guess,
"D.B.Cooper"...
I flew a few times in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Everything was very relaxed, civilized, everyone dressed nicely, one boarded by ascending a portable Stair out on the Tarmac, friends and relatives and so on, stood at a low fence, and waved.
I am not sure how suspension of Constitutional rights is rationalized, in contexts of this kind - Airplanes, Trains, Busses, Cabs.
Airline Pilots used to be able to perform Marriages, same as Sea Captains, since when in an American Registered Airplane and over American Soil, was one understood to be in-effect, 'on' American Soil.
Pilots did carry personal Firearms, also.
I thought I remembered that well into the 1960s, people could CCW or Carry-On Firearms.
LEO, Prisoner Transport, G-Men, Jewelry Salesmen, or anyone else.
No one would have known anyway, untill the advent of the force-funnel lines through the Metal Detectors was begun.
Yeah...the 'Hijackings to Cuba' ( which were probably intel projects anyway, or even if not, then resulted from them regardless, ) and then, I guess,
"D.B.Cooper"...
I flew a few times in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Everything was very relaxed, civilized, everyone dressed nicely, one boarded by ascending a portable Stair out on the Tarmac, friends and relatives and so on, stood at a low fence, and waved.
I am not sure how suspension of Constitutional rights is rationalized, in contexts of this kind - Airplanes, Trains, Busses, Cabs.
Airline Pilots used to be able to perform Marriages, same as Sea Captains, since when in an American Registered Airplane and over American Soil, was one understood to be in-effect, 'on' American Soil.
Pilots did carry personal Firearms, also.
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Guns and more
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I agree. In those days, all the passengers knew they would fly to Cuba, be inconvenienced, and probably be home by supper. Nobody needed someone shooting up a perfectly good aircraft. 9/11 changed that forever.
oneounceload
member
My recollection (and it fades as I age), was after the GCA of 68, which was precipitated by the MLK and RFK assassinations, coupled with the increase in hijackings to Cuba
WardenWolf
member
There's lots of reasons for restricting carry on airplanes. In all honesty, I have to say I agree with it. You don't want *anyone* to have the ability to hole the plane and cause a major safety hazard for all onboard. And an accidental discharge on an airplane can prove catastrophic. There's just too many reasons it's a very bad idea.
Are you expecting people to be sucked out the window like in Goldfinger?
WardenWolf
member
No, but having the plane depressurize, oxygen masks drop, issues with elderly people and children putting on their masks, etc., is NOT a pleasant thought. It's a safety hazard, regardless of how you look at it. Not to mention the possibility of the shot entering the fuel tanks, hydraulic system, etc.
Cosmoline
Member
I think most people would be surprised at the number of holes, gaps and openings already in a modern jet aircraft. I got to learn all about this in a bogus barotrauma suit I helped defend years ago. A little handgun hole added to what's already there isn't going to do much if anything.
carry on a plane....i really have no opinion on it......
but the discharge of a gun on an airplane is nothing to shrug off......
honestly, you can probably go to town on a plane with a tommy gun and riddle the air-frame with holes and probably not notice any adverse effects...like stated before, there are holes all over the plane.
but there are also fuel and hydraulic lines, not to mention miles of electrical cables.......if one of those get clipped.......well lets just say it wont be pleasant....
not to mention the confined space packed full of people, someone is bound to be hit in the even of a discharge.
honestly i feel that tazers would be a far better option over firearms
but the discharge of a gun on an airplane is nothing to shrug off......
honestly, you can probably go to town on a plane with a tommy gun and riddle the air-frame with holes and probably not notice any adverse effects...like stated before, there are holes all over the plane.
but there are also fuel and hydraulic lines, not to mention miles of electrical cables.......if one of those get clipped.......well lets just say it wont be pleasant....
not to mention the confined space packed full of people, someone is bound to be hit in the even of a discharge.
honestly i feel that tazers would be a far better option over firearms
Darkhorse
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My mom was a stewardess in the early 1930s. According to her, passengers carrying (loaded) guns were required to leave them with the pilot, and pick them up when leaving the plane. I don't know if this was law or airline policy.
My older brothers carried hunting rifles onto commercial airplanes in the early 1960s; the guns were expected (required?) to be unloaded and left with the pilot. Again, they were picked up when leaving the plane.
In the late 1960s a few crackpots hijacked planes to Cuba; that started the banning of guns carried onto planes. In the early 1970s a rash of such hijackings prompted the metal-detector screenings at airports.
My older brothers carried hunting rifles onto commercial airplanes in the early 1960s; the guns were expected (required?) to be unloaded and left with the pilot. Again, they were picked up when leaving the plane.
In the late 1960s a few crackpots hijacked planes to Cuba; that started the banning of guns carried onto planes. In the early 1970s a rash of such hijackings prompted the metal-detector screenings at airports.
Geez--did nobody see the Mythbusters episode where they tried this? It seems that you need a hole about the size of a porthole to cause traumatic depressurization. A one-half inch hole won't make it happen...
Now, if I were CCWing my M-67 90mm recoilless rifle, that could be another story.
ed
Now, if I were CCWing my M-67 90mm recoilless rifle, that could be another story.
ed
It actually finally became illegal to posses a firearm on a commercial aircraft during the Clinton administration just a few months before he left office. Someone can look up the details if they are so inclined. Prior to that the only restrictions were related to passing through the airport with firearms. Of course, airline policies also were against carrying. Federal law restricting firearms came last, a great idea(not) by a liberal administration.
For those of you who think a bullet hole will depressurize an aircraft - take alook at your computer screen. Now multiply the size of that screen 6 to 10 times and that will show you how big the average commercial airliner outflow valve opening is. These holes never close completely, they just modulate their size in reference to the amount of air being pumped into the airframe.
For those of you who think a bullet hole will depressurize an aircraft - take alook at your computer screen. Now multiply the size of that screen 6 to 10 times and that will show you how big the average commercial airliner outflow valve opening is. These holes never close completely, they just modulate their size in reference to the amount of air being pumped into the airframe.
oldfool
Member
it's not the hole you should worry about, no
a lot of stuff airplanes are made out of is not at all difficult to shoot on thru
some things on the other side of what it goes thru are not good to hit, low probability as it may seem
not like you can just say "oh shucks, guess we will just have to get out and walk home"
on the other hand, having flimsy door cabin entry in common with passenger compartment, and captains not being allowed to carry, is just plain stoopid
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gun guy
Member
Everyone that didn't get hijacked to cuba in the 60's gets an A. Bet you heard that from Walter Cronkite didn't you. 
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