Silicon Valley plans to stop skyjackings...all of them.

ZDNET news desk ^ | 9/13.01 | David Coursey

[AndrewC]

Ever hear of complete electrical failure? Navigation equipment can be deactivated. Radios shut down. Airplanes are normally constructed to be flown "manually". Therefore safe mode can be bypassed, unless you wish to design deathtraps to fly in.

[chuckles]

If it used Windoze, it would lock up and give the "Blue Screen Of Death" every couple of flights.

[chantal7]

They can't seal off the cockpit securely. The door is made to blow out when there is decommpression. If the door didn't blow apart when there is decommpression then the cockpit would break off from the rest of the plane or so some pilots have reported.

[NorCoGOP]

Safe mode can be disabled twice per flight if the pilot keys in a 4-digit recall code within 20 seconds of the safe button being pushed

What about last Tuesday, where the hijackers slaughtered the flight attendants and evidently even some passengers to gain access to the flight deck? Couldn't the same tactic be used here to get the pilot to enter the code? That's a definite risk....

[chantal7]

" They could torture the pilots into giving up the code."

If you'd read the article, you'd know that after the panic button is pushed once the pilot or co pilot only has 20 secs to punch in a 4 digit code to reverse the panic button..The panic button if pushed once more has to have another 4 digit code punched into it to take it off again and it can't be the 4 digit code previously used. After that, if the panic button is pushed then nothing and no one can take the plane off autopilot and autolanding at nearest available safe airport mode.

There would be a panic button close to pilot, one close to copilot, two on either side of the forward part of the plane and two panic buttons on either side of the back part of plane.

That takes all control of the plane from the pilots and the hijackers and there is nothing that anyone can do about it if the panic button is engaged. The hijackers could blow the plane up, murder all the passengers but wouldn't be able to use the plane as a flying bomb.

Also, there are numerous ways they could make this safe from hijacker tampering.

It's a great idea and that's what technology is for..to help people to serve people.

[max61]

Here's a better suggestion and has a proven track record to go with it. Simply make the aircraft's flight deck inaccessible from the passenger area. Basically, the flight crew would have a separate entrance to the craft from the passengers. Problem solved. Hijackers can't hijack a plane if they can't control the aircraft.

---max

[MissAmericanPie]

Brilliant idea.

[max61]

It's a great idea and that's what technology is for..to help people to serve people.

A billion dollar solution to a .50 cent problem is not what I would term efficient or optimal.

---max