The political class will not even trust former military pilots flying commercial jets to have access to pistols in the cockpits for a last ditch attempt to prevent the next 9-11.
They'd prefer to shoot the entire jetliner down (killing all aboard) with an Air Force F-16 fighter.
Why? The fighter jet is flown by an active duty military pilot who is under the direct control of the National Command Authority chain of command.
It's all about control.
They want it all, and they don't want the peasants to have any.