[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Eric, call a cop, call an abulance and call Dominos. Guess who gets there first?

[Support Free Republic]

Are we there yet?

[Leatherneck_MT]

Sounds like Erik is one of those cowards who wants others to do the fighting for him.

[Steel Wolf]

If pilots are allowed to carry guns on board and there's a disturbance in the cabin, my fear is that a crew member might be tempted to open the cockpit door in an attempt to manage the disturbance.

Or he might be tempted to sit tight and ventilate whoever breaks down the door. At that range, and through so narrow a passage, you're not going to miss some dude with a boxcutter in his hand and the jihad in his eye.

The presence of a firearm in the cockpit does nothing to make the plane safer. At the first sign of trouble, the plane should land as soon as possible and let the authorities deal with the situation on the ground.

Not safer? If the cockpit is breached and siezed, then the plane is going to land as soon as possible, right into the side of a skyscraper, and the authorities will have to deal with the situation on the ground.

Either that, or the authorities will decide they'd rather handle the problem in the air, and send an F-16 to turn that hijacked passenger plane into a fiery ball of scattered wreckage before it can reach it's target.

In either case, the situation cannot be made worse by guns, and can clearly be made better.

[Cobra64]

Eric's mentality is that of a three year old. "Gee Daddy, just make the boogey-man go away."

[Senormechanico]

Maybe we ought to train and arm all the flight attendants.
"Coffee, tea, or Glock?"

SM

[SKI NOW]

At the first sign of trouble, the plane should land as soon as possible and let the authorities deal with the situation on the ground. Eric Schwarz Queens

Sorry junior, but that's what exactly happened on 9/11.

[William Tell]

Liz said: "If pilots are allowed to carry guns on board and there's a disturbance in the cabin, my fear is that a crew member might be tempted to open the cockpit door in an attempt to manage the disturbance. "

Of all the professions with which you are familiar, why are you concerned that commercial aircraft pilots will fail to follow procedures which are decided ahead of time are in the best interests of their passengers? Why not be concerned that they might ignore tower instructions and choose to land on a runway of their choice instead of the one assigned? Why not be concerned that they might choose to fly above the safe altitude for the plane despite instructions from the manufacturer?

Are you projecting your own "feelings" that you would be unable to maintain cockpit discipline and that you would jeopardize thousands of people on the ground by leaving your duty station?

A lack of personal discipline seems to be an indicator of anti-gun "feelings". What makes you "feel" that an un-armed pilot will not leave his duty station to "manage a disturbance" in the cabin? Do you think that pilots are cowards who would only be emboldened to take action if they are armed?

Do you "feel" that you would fail to assist in a cabin disturbance simply because you lack a firearm. Have we learned nothing from Flight 93? If terrorists threaten us, then we must fight them and kill them.

[William Tell]

Sorry, Liz.

I mis-attributed the letter of "Eric Schwarz Queens" to you. My mistake.

[Mulder]

At the first sign of trouble, the plane should land as soon as possible

LOL! They should ask for a "timeout" while they turn the plane around and fly to the nearest landing strip.

and let the authorities deal with the situation on the ground.

What does he mean by "authorities"? Is his Mistress going to take them with her strap-on after the landing?

In a Free society, "We the People" are the "authorities".

[William Tell]

The article quotes a letter writer who said: "If pilots are allowed to carry guns on board and there's a disturbance in the cabin, my fear is that a crew member might be tempted to open the cockpit door in an attempt to manage the disturbance. "

Of all the professions with which he is familiar, why is he concerned that commercial aircraft pilots will fail to follow procedures which are decided ahead of time are in the best interests of their passengers? Why is he not concerned that they might ignore tower instructions and choose to land on a runway of their choice instead of the one assigned? Why is he not concerned that they might choose to fly above the safe altitude for the plane despite instructions from the manufacturer?

Is he projecting his own "feelings" that he would be unable to maintain cockpit discipline and that he would jeopardize thousands of people on the ground by leaving his duty station?

A lack of personal discipline seems to be an indicator of anti-gun "feelings". What makes him "feel" that an UN-ARMED pilot will not leave his duty station to "manage a disturbance" in the cabin? Does he think that pilots are cowards who would only be emboldened to take action if they are armed?

Does he "feel" that he would fail to assist in a cabin disturbance simply because he lacks a firearm. Have we learned nothing from Flight 93? If terrorists threaten us, then we must fight them and kill them.

[JesseHousman]

Guns in the cockpit certainly couldn't have made 9/11 worse.

An understatement if I ever heard one.

It would have been much better if the passengers had been given a chance and all been armed. Guns against boxcutters! The boxcutters' purpose was to slit a few throats and accelerate the terror.

The statement to the effect that at first sign of trouble the plane should be landed is ludicrous.

[Little Ray]

Schwarz is a fool and, likely, a coward.
He presents no evidence that firearms in the cockpit will make the flight MORE dangerous and there is a good reason to believe that that they might make the flight safer. Therefore pilots should be armed.

I like the idea of arming the flight attendents too, if just with stunguns and collapsable batons. Might need to evaluate the flight attendants, though.

[Imal]

"my fear is that a crew member might be tempted to open the cockpit door in an attempt to manage the disturbance.

Legislation and public policy should be based on truth, not irrational fear, which is at the root of far more evil than guns could possibly ever be.

[OldPossum]

What advice would Mr. Schwarz have for a pilot when the plane is attacked half-way across the Atlantic Ocean?