To be considered a ‘safe direction’ it can’t be one square foot.
Okay. Where in the cockpit should he be pointing his (loaded) pistol when holstering and locking it?
"The pilot has to take his gun off and lock it up before he leaves the cockpit, so he was trying to secure the gun in preparation for landing, while he was trying to fly the airplane, too," said David Mackett, president of the Airline Pilots Security Alliance. "In the process of doing that, the padlock that is required to be inserted into the holster pulled the trigger and caused the gun to discharge."
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"It's a completely unsafe system unless it's used in a static environment — in a bedroom with good light. But to try to balance a gun on your lap and padlock it while flying an airplane 300 miles an hour, sometimes in the dark, is not secure," Mr. Mackett said....
I wonder what the other guy was doing when this one was flying the airplane at 300 mph, down to a landing, in the dark, while trying to holster his (loaded) weapon and put the lock on it? (poor CRM)