[anniegetyourgun]

Works for me!

[RKV]

Underperformin Norman Minetta has done his best to kill this program including moving the training site several thousand miles after it was already set up. Keep the pressure on if you want a pilot who can resist a terrorist flying your airplane.

[NittanyLion]

One pilot from New York, a friend of one of the pilots who crashed into the World Trade Center, said he has learned ways to keep the cockpit door closed and how to protect his weapon.

"They've used pilots to put together this program and not just lawyers," he said.

The lawyers are too busy devising ways to make sure that dreaded weapon "the fingernail clipper" and its assault weapon variant "the toenail clipper" don't make it on board.

[Mulder]

This is all a bunch of nonsense.

If the gov't would only recognize our Rights, pilots and passengers alike would already be flying armed. And 9/11 would not have occurred.

[ExSoldier]

I have a buddy who's a chief pilot currently in this program....he asked me to work with him on the shooting prep and I did so, for more than three months of straight practice before he reported for training. By all accounts it was worth the effort and it helped. I also showed him some basic aikido counters to grabs that work well.

[big_Rob]

Isn't airline safety the reason the glaser safety bullet was developed? Those 8 shot filled gelatinous bullets that don't penetrate much, so the aircraft hull has a lower chance of rupturing if the pilot misses the perp. They look cool, but I've never shot them. Armed pilots are definately the way to go.

[TC Rider]

A neighbor who is a pilot has told me that a lot of pilots who would be willing to take the training and the gun in the cockpit are passing on the opportunity.

They fear the 'psychological' evaluation required for entering the program. A bad evaluation not only blocks a pilot from the gun program, but, goes into their permenant record and could bar them from flying. Many are afraid to put their careers in the hands of the mostly leftist psychs.

[Don Corleone]

A Flight Attendant, Stewardess, Cabin Cutie, with PMS is still a good first line of defense!

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Pilots who pass the training, background and psychological tests are deputized as federal flight deck officers with jurisdiction in the cockpit of their aircraft.

Whew! THAT is a relief!!

Pilots who do NOT "pass the background and psychological tests" darn well shouldn't be driving fully loaded airliners God-only-knows-where.

If the pilot does NOT have "jurisdiction in the cockpit of their aircraft," who the heck DOES?

[rockfish59]

Hmm..all the fighter pilots in WW2, Korea and Vietnam all carried sidearms!

What the hell's the problem, Mineta?? Get your ass in gear!!
Stop listening to the Million Mom Marchers and Sarah Brady!

[ibbryn]

They need to get rid off the b.s. two hour psyc exam. If they don't have confidence that the pilots are sane, don't let them pilot.
The pilots also need to be permitted to carry 24/7 on or off duty, anywhere a Fed can carry. Putting 1000's of armed pilots on the street should be very useful in providing "homeland security." I'm suprized the Feds haven't figured that our. (ha!)

[LibKill]

The really great thing about this is, the hijackers won't know which pilot has a gun.

In a discussion about my CHL (Concealed Handgun License) my YELLOW-DOG-DEMOCRAT Uncle told me;

"You are performing a public service when you carry your gun. When I go to the mall, the bad guys don't know if it is me or you."

Crime is down in Texas since we got CHL.

May it be the same for our airlines.

[Atlas Sneezed]

Bang

[El Gato]

They were learning how to ward off an attacker trying to get their pistols

Since the only reason for pilots to be armed is to defend the cockpit, isn't the best way to do that to shoot the bastards before they can get into the cockpit and/or close enough to take the pistol away?

TSA is requiring entirely too much training, and requiring of it people who already know more than enough to defend the cockpit with a handgun. For you see that helps cut down on the number of armed pilots, and neither Tom Ridge,Norm Minetta, the original pick for the TSA, former BATF chief John Magaw, or the current TSA head (Admiral) James M. Loy , ever wanted an armed pilots program. They would rather lose an airplane and all the passengers and crew, than admit that armed civilians could play a role in the struggle against the islamofacists.