Posted on 09/11/2001 8:16:26 PM PDT by RightOnline
In light of today's horrific events, wherein a group of highly-trained, highly-motivated terrorists apparently armed with knives and/or box cutters hijacked no fewer than four civilian airliners, I'd like to offer a proposal for your consideration.
Is it time, in light of the state of our world today, for a new category of "concealed carry" licensing? Let's call it, for lack of better phraseology for the time being, CCW-ATQ (ATQ = "Air Travel Qualified").
What I envision is a category of armed citizens who are a subset of those with "CCW" licenses. They would undergo much additional training, akin to the training given to the "Air Marshals" whom we've all read about. They would undergo background checks, etc., much like individuals seeking higher security clearances.
Once certified, a citizen possessing a CCW-ATQ license would be approved to carry a weapon aboard a civilian airliner. The aircraft crew would be notified whether or not they had any CCW-ATQ certified passengers, but would NOT be given names or seating assignments (terrorists would know if such was provided to aircrews, thereby making such passengers easy targets..........nullifying much of their effectiveness).
I don't offer this suggestion lightly or flippantly, but as a proposal for protection of air travellers in American airspace. I cannot help but think that if such was allowed today, the hijackings just might not have been so successful.
Of course, the Israelis have been doing this for ages, except they have three or more sky marshalls rather than CCW. We can learn a lot from a nation that faces terrorism as a daily reality.
There probably are more absurd misconceptions about aircraft pressurization than about any other aircraft system.
Consider, for example, the popular belief that a bullet shot through a pressurized fuselage will cause explosive decompression and loss of aircraft control. This is, after all, what happened to Pussy Galore and James Bond in Goldfinger when a stray bullet went through the cabin wall of their Lockheed Jetstar. Not only did they experience explosive decompression, but the aircraft went into a spin, forcing Pussy and James to parachute to safety. Totally ridiculous, but it made for good drama.
And how about the myth perpetuated by the motion picture Airport '77? After the Boeing 747 came to rest at the bottom of the Caribbean, the intrepid captain (Jack Lemmon) allayed his passengers' fear of drowning by proclaiming authoritatively, "Don't worry, folks; this airplane is pressurized!" Apparently pacified, the naive passengers headed for the piano bar to sip martinis until rescued.
Someone should have nominated this movie for the "Best Comedy of the Year" award.
...
Pressurizing an aircraft cabin (the pressure vessel) is similar to pumping air into a tire that has a controllable leak. In the case of piston-powered aircraft, pressurizing air is provided by the engine turbochargers. The "leak" consists of one or more outflow valves at the rear of the cabin. These valves allow air to escape continuously. This prevents excessive pressure from causing structural damage and provides an exit for venting stale air overboard. Pressurization is maintained by pumping in as much air as is allowed to escape.
Many believe that cabin pressure is determined by varying the amount of air pumped into the aircraft. Not so. The flow of incoming air is approximately constant. Cabin pressure is determined by the outflow valves, which modulate automatically to vary the amount of air flowing overboard and maintain the selected degree of pressurization.
In effect, the cabin always has at least one open "hole." The addition of a bullet hole, therefore, would have no effect on cabin pressure. The outflow valve(s) would compensate by closing slightly and automatically to maintain a constant flow of air through the cabin. Larger holes in the structure, however, may result in depressurization.
In the case of jetliners, the ouflow valves are so large that the loss of an entire cabin window may not affect cabin pressure significantly. (It would not be pleasant, however, to be seated next to such a window.)
Barry Schiff, with 20,000 hours in more than 225 types of aircraft, has achieved worldwide recognition for his aviation accomplishments. A verteran captain with Trans World Airlines, currently flying the Lockheed 1011, he is a contributing editor of AOPA Pilot and an award-winning author of eight books and more than 500 articles. 1987
THE ENTIRE EPISODE COULD HAVE BEEN AVERTED HAD EACH OF THOSE PLANES HAD STRONGER COCKPIT DOORS AND THOSE FOUR CAPTAINS HAD CRUMBY $300. PISTOLS IN THEIR FLIGHT BAGS!
WE SIMPLY MUST ASK OUR "LEADERS" WHY THEY DID NOT!!
AND IF YOU DON'T LIKE THAT PLAN, ASK THE SURVIVORS OF THE 5,000 FORMER AMERICANS IF THEY WOULD AGAIN TRADE THEIR LOVED ONES TO APPEASE THE OH-SO DELICATE SENSIBILITIES OF ROSIE O'DONNELL, SARAH BRADY AND THE NUTS AT HANDGUN CONTROL. ANYBODY ELSE WONDER WHY WE HAVEN'T HEARD FROM THEM SINCE 9-11?
As America continues to reel from the catastrophic events of 9/11, we need to rethink a few things:
Its probably time to train and ARM the cockpit crews of US carriers who agree to the program. Pilots and FOs who do not want the responsibility can be exempted. It was, after all, the folks controlling the aircraft who were the targets on Terrible Tuesday.
During the rash of hijackings of a few decades ago, the feds put armed AIR MARSHALS on many flights. While some correctly argued that a fuselage punctured by a bullet at 35,000 feet MIGHT repeat MIGHT bring the plane down hijackings fell off.
One thing we know for sure about the four craft hijacked on 9/11: They ALL CAME DOWN and THEY ALL DIED!!
And to those who will inevitably and stupidly argue that pilots and FOs just cannot be trusted with the decision about when its time to pull a trigger, better tell the up to 400 folks sitting in the back that the guys up front are judgment-impaired!
Personally, Id prefer to take my chances with a rapid decompression than watch some madman take MY flight into a building or the ground at 500 mph. That was the final experience of 266 fellow humans on 9/11. I KNOW I like they wont survive that!
And pay VERY close attention to the "solutions" being offered by those in government: They are NOT talking about REMOVING the limitations they have ALREADY placed on us as individuals to DEFEND OURSELVES. They are beginning to talk about FURTHER RESTRICTIONS on our liberties and MORE GOVERNMENT! More GOVERNMENT? The same GOVERNMENT that failed so miserably in its obligation to protect citizens that 5,000 of them died like cattle in a slaughterhouse on September 11th? THAT GOVERNMENT?? </font color=red>
Its again the old, old story: There arent TOO many weapons out there. Its that the touchy-feely, warm-fuzzy PC crowd now sees to it that all too frequently, THE WRONG PEOPLE HAVE THEM!
Make no mistake, y'all. There WILL be those who will use the current atmosphere to usurp more Federal power. That canNOT be allowed. I find them ghoulish as much as un-Constitutional.
We don't need to have our military all over the world doing the "meals on wheels tour". Then why should we employ them as passenger baby-sitters?
Instead of guns, give the military 30 to 40 ft. range taser guns. Memo to terrorists: Consider wearing heavy clothing.
This has a couple of benefits. It will not penetrate the plane like a bullet would. See post #131. I believe weve already established that an aircraft bullet hole is overated as a hazard.
Got sword? (M1 Garand ==>CMP)
No mercy, no quarter!
May the jihadists burn in hell for eternity!
Help speed them on their way!
Molon Labe!
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