Posted on 09/05/2002 4:06:17 PM PDT by SBeck
Bush to OK Guns for Airline Pilots
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 6:37 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate voted overwhelmingly Thursday to allow commercial pilots to carry weapons in the cockpit after the Bush administration dropped its opposition to the idea.
The administration, though, said a number of safety and logistical issues needed to be resolved.
In a letter to two senators, the White House recommended giving pilots lockboxes for the weapons so they won't be left in the cockpit. It also said only pilots who volunteer to carry weapons and receive extensive training should be armed.
Al Aitken, a pilot speaking for the 14,500-member union representing American Airlines pilots, which supports arming pilots, said the 87-6 vote meant the Senate recognized that all the security layers the administration is putting into place are still inadequate.
``The people who need the weapons as a last line of defense are the pilots,'' he said. ``They're the only ones they're trying to keep the gun from,'' he said, adding that thousands of state and federal law enforcement officers travel on planes while armed.
The heads of 21 airlines, which oppose the measure, sent a letter to each senator Thursday saying they wanted to discuss the idea of arming pilots with Congress and the administration.
``It must be noted, however, that while we are spending literally billions of dollars to keep dangerous weapons off of aircraft, the idea of intentionally introducing thousands of deadly weapons in to the system appears to be dangerously counterproductive,'' the letter said.
To address some of the airlines' concerns, the administration suggested a ``detailed, effective'' training program be designed from scratch and tested before an estimated 85,000 pilots are allowed to carry weapons.
The administration also warned the cost would be significant -- $900 million to start and $250 million annually thereafter -- and said there is no money now in the Transportation Security Administration budget to cover the expenses.
The letter from Transportation Security Administration chief James Loy was delivered to Sens. Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., and John McCain, R-Ariz., as the Senate debated the measure that would allow all pilots to carry guns into the cockpit. Hollings is chairman of the Senate Commerce and Transportation Committee; McCain is the committee's ranking Republican.
``If there is to be responsible legislation establishing a program to allow guns in the cockpit, it must address the numerous safety, security, cost and operational issues,'' Loy wrote.
Sen. Bob Smith, R-N.H., offered the amendment to the homeland security bill that would prohibit airlines and the federal government from barring armed pilots.
``We prefer a more comprehensive approach in our amendment, but are grateful for any efforts by the administration to roll the ball down the field,'' said Smith's spokeswoman, Lisa Harrison.
The chairman of the House Transportation Committee's aviation subcommittee, Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., said pilots should be armed at least until bulletproof cockpit doors are installed in all planes.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday that manufacturers and airlines agree an April 9 deadline to install the new doors can be met.
Mica said the administration realized that the momentum in Congress favoring arming pilots is strong. A bill to create a program that would train and arm some pilots passed the House 310-113 in July.
Transportation Undersecretary John Magaw, who headed the TSA until July, said in May he would not allow pilots to carry guns. Reinforced cockpits and armed air marshals provide enough protection against terrorists who try to take over an airplane, Magaw said.
After Magaw's departure, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said he would re-examine the issue.
I'll trust pilots to carry weapons, but no lockboxes. Gore promised me that my social security payments are in one and I don't want it flying around with some fiscally unresponsible airline pilot.
Really. They'd put every damn thing into a lock box if they could, including you.
$900 million for WHAT??!?
That's over $10k per pilot!! All you need is one or two handguns ($500 each) per airplane plus $150 worth of training per pilot. Arrrgh - why must the government cost so damned much no matter what they do?!
Someone needs to be fired for even suggesting costs like this.
-bc
1. An airline pilot is easily identified and even if he picks up his firearm in the sterile area - beyond the checkpoint - he or she will become a target of opportunity for a directed attack by terrorists to obtain firearms.
2. A lockbox would give airport police the time to respond to an incident. I know how that sounds, but the function of the weapon is for the defense of the cockpit. Its carriage in the airport is a liability and a risk.
3. Missle command uses lockboxes to secure the codes for the launch of nuclear weapons inside their already secure launch facilities. This is probably the same reasoning behind the lockbox, it prevents the accidental or inadvertent use of a weapon of last intent.
Don't let the use of a lockbox override the logic of another layer of defense.
No thank the Lord! But understand your point. Still better a chance to avoid being AMRAAMed is better than none. In their circumstance they will generally have some warnig of a problem, provided they keep that cockpit hatch secured, especially after the hatches are beefed up. After all, one crew had time to pull out the fire ax to deal with a potential hijacker breaking into the cockpit.
And your point is? Neither have the vast majority of police officers. The chances that any particular pilot will be involved in a hijacking or other terrorist incident are miniscule. They don't need special forces or SWAT training, just some minimal familarlization training as well as some "when to shoot" training, of the sort given to concealed handgun license applicants, but more specialized. Remember also that these are people who are trained in quick thinking and staying calm under pressure. Just read some cockpit voice recorder transcripts, either of crash incidents or more importantly avoided crash incidents. A nice random selection of pilots, and they almost are all trying to be like Chuck Yeager, and doing a fair job of it.
That's the exact thing I thought when I heard this on Fox News. Why is it when the government is involved in anything, so are hundreds of millions of dollars.
You simply reverse the law that is in place. Stipulate that pilots who are trained to use fire arms are permitted to use them. Then let those pilots carry their personal guns onto the planes if they so choose! What's so expensive about that?
How in the hell can that much money be spent on a few thousand guns and the required ammo? I sure wish my firearms budget was $900 million. Methinks some pork has been introduced into this bill.
Ummm. That's to keep them safe from the people inside. It keeps people from being able to use that knowledge to fake launch codes. It's not because they want to make sure that they don't accidentally use the codes.
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