[In case link does not work, picture is of an ANG F-15 darn near inside the wing of a civilian airliner. The F-15 is clearly armed with at least one Sidewinder missle and one Sparrow missle.]
I don’t know… not many do, evidently.
So far fighters have escorted jets with unruly or drunk or mental passengers – oh there was that one with the “shoe-bomber”. But none of those flights were hijacked and being piloted toward a building. Still, I suppose you have to treat each incident as if it was a hijacking.
To me it’s just a tool to manipulate – “give me what I want or you risk being shot down by the USAF.” It’s rings hollow considering that on 9/11, when three of four planes were indeed being flown into buildings, approximately zero of them were shot down.
I don’t like the idea of a non-federal employee being given the legal authority and status of a federal law enforcement officer. I don’t like the idea that this great “Arm The Pilots” proposal is voluntary in nature. I don’t like the idea that pilots MUST be armed (voluntarily) yet they are still flying (unarmed) because _____ (fill in the blank for me because I can’t.)
From the proposal (the APSA site) that I read, they want to be “deputized” FLEOs. Their legal authority is not limited to when they are on an airplane, while they are on airport property or anything else. And yet they are not LEOs. – they will not be conducting interviews or compiling information on any terrorist suspects, or doing any other LEO-type work during their non-flying hours. They are LEOs in name only, and only for the reason of circumventing existing gun laws and to limit their liability. They are not even federal employees – usually that is nice because the federal government is at least somewhat (supposedly) responsible for, and can control, their actions to some degree – that would not be the case here as they would not be federal employees. They’d essentially be licensees. Or something.
I don’t like it. I didn’t like the idea of making the guy that holds the plastic tray with your car keys while you walk through the metal detector a federal employee either, and you see what that got me.
It was a pretty picture though (your link). Even though that fighter is not in a position to fire a missile at or shoot down anything…
I really don't like their proposal (seriously). If they want to be armed while in flight or while on airline/airport property, that is fine. Otherwise they are just Joe Citizen... And even while on the job, they are Joe Citizen with a carry permit... all fine with me. The way it is currently proposed is not. Not that it matters...