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A properly armed and trained flight crew with good communications and forewarnings of danger signals couldn't have done anything different----right. I bet when the next aircraft is hijacked by islamojerkoterrorists and used to kill innocents, there won't be as much squeamishness about arming flight crews. Unfortunately, the right democrat politician's wife or kid will probably need to be on that flight--or Sarah Brady's kid without his rifle.

The 11,000 pilots of American Airlines and the 2,300 pilots of TWA LLC (NYSE: AMR), as represented by the Allied Pilots Association, joined pilots from all of the nation's airlines in a petition drive aimed at the Bush Administration regarding the issue of arming commercial airline pilots.

"An overwhelming majority of airline pilots believe that government agencies empowered by the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001 have thus far failed to act with the appropriate sense of urgency," said Captain Denny Breslin, an American Airlines pilot and member of APA's Committee for Armed Defense of the Cockpit. "We are seeking the right to carry firearms as the ultimate defense against a lethal threat to our aircraft."

APA's Web Site now provides visitors with the ability to affix an electronic signature to a petition calling for the federal government to establish a program to train and certify airline pilots to carry firearms. APA and other pilot groups was to deliver the petition to President Bush on May 2, which coincides with hearings sponsored by Representative John Mica (R-FL), who chairs the House Aviation Subcommittee.

Breslin noted that pilots have become increasingly impatient with what they view as an over-reliance on ineffective passenger screenings, as well as a Federal Air Marshal program that will never produce a sufficient number of marshals for every flight.

"It is time to recognize that pilots vested with the responsibility for multi-million dollar aircraft and hundreds of passengers can likewise be trusted to serve as a critical last line of defense-as well as a valuable first line of deterrence," said Breslin. "Should other defensive measures fail, arming pilots is the best way to deal with the threat of suicidal hijackers, and we are asking for the public's support in this vital effort."

To view APA's petition and add your signature, visit www.alliedpilots.org.

I am hoping that getting airline security out of Democrat Mineta's Transportation Department into the new Department of Homeland Security will shift the political bias on this issue. Most people who are against it never heard of frangible bullets.

Naw the idiots down at transportation would rather shoot the aircraft outta the sky then arm the pilots
...after all like Ridge said...@ the next thing ya know bus drivers and train crewman will want to be armed..

And we all know what that could lead to.....