U.S. to Add 5,000 Armed Air Marshals

but do you know how many pilots would WANT to carry and have the responsibility for a gun?

If they don't want the responsibilities of the job, they're welcome to seek another. It's (still) a (more or less) free country.

I understand your take on this, but do you know how many pilots would WANT to carry and have the responsibility for a gun? How many wouldn't?

Why wouldn't they want to if it helps them carry out their duties and trust, to get their passengers where they're going safely?

Remember, 9/11 changed things. It isn't like the old days anymore. Its a war. These barbarians are out to kill us, and will use any means they can to do so. We have to be prepared to stop them. That means pilots should be armed and prepared to fight for their lives and those of their passengers. Passengers likewise must not succumb to the Clintonian feminization of America and ride passively in their seats to their deaths. Like Todd Beamer and the other heroes of Flight 93 who showed us the way of true courage, we must also be prepared to resist those who would kill us.

I realize that a lot of this is Monday morning quarterbacking, but if we're not willing to learn from past mistakes and take concrete, courageous actions, we invite a repeat of that terrible day. Its not the way pilots who signed on to the job or passengers who bought their tickets would have wanted it, but its the way it is, and we have to deal with it realistically.

Thank you. You don't know how much I appreciate honest, intellectual, informative argument.

Maybe what I have not communicated to you is the idea that not all pilots come from military backgrounds, or familiarity with firearms, and even have different religious convictions.

I.E. Some may not want to have to SHOOT someone and kill them. They want to fly, not kill.

If we make it part of their job, then we have the COST of handgun safety/use training, the insurance for pilots will have to go up more, the pilots will want more pay (lot's more pay) for hazardous duty requirements, and all this will be passed on to US.

I say let the pilot have a gun, if he/she wants one and passes tests required to carry a firearm.

Other than that, keep their hands on the wheel, and their eyes upon the road.

Make the entry to the pilot area a secure zone that cannot be breached from the outside. (this is already being done.)

In thinking more about your last paragraph, I understand your concept of each of us being responsible, ergo the pilots need to step up to the plate. Following your logic, then everyone should carry a weapon.

I would go back to one of my original statements in an earlier post that no one picked up on.

What does the country that had the highest incident of airline terrorism, but has eliminated these, do?

Lessons Learned/Applied

Maybe what I have not communicated to you is the idea that not all pilots come from military backgrounds, or familiarity with firearms, and even have different religious convictions.

Certainly a possibility. Those licensed to pilot aircraft are a diverse group. While I do not have concrete statistics along those lines, my sense is that your statement is correct.

I.E. Some may not want to have to SHOOT someone and kill them. They want to fly, not kill.

Among civilized people, very few people actually want to kill. But, if the situation requires it, one may be called upon to make the unpleasant choice: kill the attacker, or allow yourself and those in your charge to die.

If we make it part of their job, then we have the COST of handgun safety/use training, the insurance for pilots will have to go up more, the pilots will want more pay (lot's more pay) for hazardous duty requirements, and all this will be passed on to US.

I can see how costs could be higher. But better to pay higher costs than risk another 9/11.

I say let the pilot have a gun, if he/she wants one and passes tests required to carry a firearm.

Training should certainly be required. Those with military backgrounds will have a leg up, but everyone who wants to can learn. I guess all I can say is that if I can learn it, so can anyone (I'm not that smart).

Other than that, keep their hands on the wheel, and their eyes upon the road.

Defending the flight deck against unauthorized entry will allow them to do just that. If the barbarians take over the plane by force, the pilots will not be in control anymore.

Make the entry to the pilot area a secure zone that cannot be breached from the outside. (this is already being done.)

Certainly a reasonable thing to do as a first step. Remote surveillance of the passenger areas should also be done. Video equipment nowadays is compact and light enough to do this. Are there "panic buttons" available to the flight attendants? Something that can warn the pilots to get ready to defend themselves and get the plane on the ground ASAP? I'm thinking of some kind of wireless remote alarm, like a beeper or something.

Following your logic, then everyone should carry a weapon.

Certainly not everyone with a firearm. But those so trained, marshals, pilots, flight attendants, and even passengers that have CW permits, should have the right to defend themselves from mortal harm. Passengers and crew should also have the mindset to defend themselves with whatever means they can, not sit back and try to empathize (as some have suggested) with those who are going to kill them.

But I have focused on the flight crew because in their hands rest the lives of their passengers. We who fly trust these people literally with our lives. In the post-9/11 world, unfortunately, that charge has taken on added dimensions, beyond the typical get-where-you're-going-safely-and-comfortably paradigm that was in place prior to that tragic day. If I had my druthers, it wouldn't be that way, but events have forced our hand to some extent.