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Faulty rules blamed for gun's firing (airline pilot's accidental discharge)
Washington Times ^ | March 28, 2008 | Audrey Hudson

Posted on 03/28/2008 12:28:59 PM PDT by neverdem

Inadequate handgun rules designed by Department of Homeland Security officials are to blame for last weekend's accidental discharge of a pistol by a commercial pilot during landing preparations, a pilots association said yesterday.

"The pilot has to take his gun off and lock it up before he leaves the cockpit, so he was trying to secure the gun in preparation for landing, while he was trying to fly the airplane, too," said David Mackett, president of the Airline Pilots Security Alliance. "In the process of doing that, the padlock that is required to be inserted into the holster pulled the trigger and caused the gun to discharge."

The unnamed US Airways pilot, who was landing at Charlotte/Douglas (N.C.) International Airport, has been placed on leave by the airline since the incident.

This was the first report of a pilot's gun being discharged on a plane.

APSA, an organization of pilots...

--snip--

"We complained to DHS two years ago that this was an unsafe rule," Mr. Mackett said.

Rather than carry the weapon on their person at all times, pilots must lock it up before opening the cockpit door, meaning pilots handle the gun as many as 10 times per flight, the association estimates.

Pilots who have completed training to become federal flight deck officers (FFDOs) and carry weapons must use a holster used primarily as a home child-safety lock. A padlock is inserted through the holster and trigger guard, but, if inserted backward, it can trigger the gun, pilots say.

"It's a completely unsafe system unless it's used in a static environment — in a bedroom with good light. But to try to balance a gun on your lap and padlock it while flying an airplane 300 miles an hour, sometimes in the dark, is not secure," Mr. Mackett said....

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Front Page News; Politics/Elections; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: armedpilots; banglist; dhs; ffdo; usairways
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To: Cobra64

Excellent


81 posted on 03/28/2008 4:10:24 PM PDT by wastedyears (The US Military is what goes Bump in the night.)
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To: 3niner
Yeah, he should just "hold it" for another five hours, if he needs to pee.

He shouldn't be peeing while trying to fly the plane, either

My point is, before touching the gun, he should have turned over control of the plane to the co-pilot, and devoted his full attention to the task at hand, whether that is securing his gun or avoiding making a puddle on the cabin floor.

The pilots union implied the negligent discharge was caused by the pilot trying to do two important things at the same time (flying and manipulating a gun), and my point is that you should avoid trying to do that kind of multi-tasking

82 posted on 03/28/2008 4:36:04 PM PDT by PapaBear3625
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To: dhs12345
A lot of people are ignorant of the possibility of semi-auto being loaded when the clip is removed.

None of my pistols can accomodate a clip.

Photobucket Photobucket

How do you insert your "clips" into your Mark Eleven?

83 posted on 03/28/2008 4:42:41 PM PDT by Cobra64 (www.BulletBras.net)
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To: wastedyears; dhs12345

See his post 74. Unbelievable... dhs12345 must work for DHS.


84 posted on 03/28/2008 4:47:24 PM PDT by Cobra64 (www.BulletBras.net)
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To: wastedyears

Correction, post 80.


85 posted on 03/28/2008 4:48:07 PM PDT by Cobra64 (www.BulletBras.net)
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To: neverdem

I pinged ya to it.

As to yer buddy........

Is that a Glock in yer pocket or are you just happy to see me?

BANG!

Oh, I guess yer not happy to see me.


86 posted on 03/28/2008 4:52:52 PM PDT by Eaker (2 Thessalonians 3:10 “... He that will not work, neither should he eat.”)
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To: neverdem

Hah! I KNEW it!


87 posted on 03/28/2008 5:00:02 PM PDT by Travis McGee (---www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com---)
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To: DoughtyOne

It’s possible. Some outfits require their protective details to keep a round chambered. The issue, however, is that all manufacturers of such trigger locks state unequivocally thou shalt not use a trigger lock on a loaded weapon. The reasons for this are obvious. That being said, if the front office weasels in TSA have an established policy contrary to common sense that clearly creates a situation leading to injury or death, you either ignore the rule, or opt out of the program. As a pilot, one would be free to choose the latter, and continue a happy care-free career flying the friendly skies. To do nothing means one hasn’t thought things through, and therefore shouldn’t be carrying a firearm.


88 posted on 03/28/2008 5:05:47 PM PDT by PowderMonkey (Will Work for Ammo)
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To: Eaker
It was an H&K with the special DHS TSA Glock Trigger Conversion.

I heard if from some guy on a really authoritative gun board.

89 posted on 03/28/2008 5:14:19 PM PDT by Travis McGee (---www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com---)
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To: Travis McGee

Hmmm. That guy be right, but generally speaking, after- market modifications to factory-standard equipment is a big NO-NO among Federal law enforcement groups. Some outfits won’t let their people perform even minor grip modifications (grip tape). (sigh) It’s a litigious world out there.


90 posted on 03/28/2008 5:24:01 PM PDT by PowderMonkey (Will Work for Ammo)
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To: PowderMonkey

I WAS JUST KIDDING!!!!!

(It’s an ongoing gag between Eaker and me, about Glocks.)

The culprit here is the dingbat TSA and their dingbat holster.

If thousands of pilot FDOs are shoving a curved piece of metal through the trigger guard of a DAO pistol 100s of 1,000s of times a year, a ND is a 100% certainty.


91 posted on 03/28/2008 5:34:41 PM PDT by Travis McGee (---www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com---)
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To: Travis McGee

DANG! Disappointed. And I was hoping to me get some of them TSA triggers for my three GLOCKS.


92 posted on 03/28/2008 5:40:05 PM PDT by PowderMonkey (Will Work for Ammo)
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To: LouAvul
What kind of cockamamied system is that?

Brought to you by the same type of government bureaucrats that Her Thighness and the Magic Negro want running our health care system.

93 posted on 03/28/2008 5:54:03 PM PDT by El Gato ("The Second Amendment is the RESET button of the United States Constitution." -- Doug McKay)
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To: PowderMonkey

Keep them Glocks in a holster, and they will NEVER spontaneously fire themselves. Guaranteed.


94 posted on 03/28/2008 6:03:08 PM PDT by Travis McGee (---www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com---)
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To: PowderMonkey

(Not counting holsters with trigger holes.)


95 posted on 03/28/2008 6:03:37 PM PDT by Travis McGee (---www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com---)
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To: deuteronlmy232
How do they get it if they need it in a hurry?

The theory must be that at the most vulnerable moment, when the door is opened for the pilot to exit, or enter for that matter since in most cases the second pilot will not be a FFDO and thus not authorized to unlock the weapon, or have his own, that's when the gun should be locked up.

Obviously the federal authorities are more worried about the pilot taking the gun into the cabin, or letting the guy with the lives of the passengers in his hands, the other pilot, having access to the firearm, without "official blessing", than they are about terrorists taking over the aircraft.

96 posted on 03/28/2008 6:08:01 PM PDT by El Gato ("The Second Amendment is the RESET button of the United States Constitution." -- Doug McKay)
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To: AngryJawa
Better idea - lockbox.

They had a box, of sorts. But only those pilots who are FFDO's could have them, and they had to be carried off the airplane, making it obvious, to the casual terrorist observer which planes had armed pilots and which did not. It was pretty heavy to be lugging around the airport along with the regular bags, chart case, etc.

97 posted on 03/28/2008 6:11:16 PM PDT by El Gato ("The Second Amendment is the RESET button of the United States Constitution." -- Doug McKay)
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To: dhs12345; Eaker
"Figured it was an auto."

Yeh. Happens all the time with Glocks.

*ducking for cover*

:)

98 posted on 03/28/2008 6:12:33 PM PDT by 2111USMC
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To: green iguana
The cockpit doors are strongly reinforced and always closed and locked now during flight.

Not true, I've personally seen them open so that the pilot could answer a call of nature. They would block the aisle in front of the door with a beverage cart. But apparently that, when the cockpit is most vulnerable, is one of the times when the federal powers that be insist that the gun be locked up in that chastity holster.

99 posted on 03/28/2008 6:16:31 PM PDT by El Gato ("The Second Amendment is the RESET button of the United States Constitution." -- Doug McKay)
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To: Travis McGee; PowderMonkey
I WAS JUST KIDDING!!!!!

LOL!

You saved me from having to think of a comeback to yer earlier post!

100 posted on 03/28/2008 6:18:46 PM PDT by Eaker (2 Thessalonians 3:10 “... He that will not work, neither should he eat.”)
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