Posted on 03/18/2002 12:09:40 AM PST by GalvestonBeachcomber
No Guns In The Cockpits
Our federal government gets awfully quirky at times. Take the issue of arming pilots with pistols so they will have a chance if terrorists breach the door and get into the cockpit.
The federal government opposes the idea. Too dangerous, it says.
On the other hand, the same federal government proposes to put armed air marshals in with the passengers, as well as have fighter jets on standby. The job, of course, of the air marshals is to shoot the hijackers, and if they fail, the job of the fighter jets is to shoot down the passenger plane if it veers from its flight plan. Not only that, but the government has stationed armed National Guardsmen in the airports. Personally, I don't fancy the idea of dodging ricochets if a poorly trained National Guard soldier decides to have a shootout with a terrorist.
Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see that a pilot shooting a terrorist in a cockpit is any more dangerous than air marshals having a gunfight out amongst the passengers. And certainly a gun in the cockpit is less dangerous than being blown out of the sky by an F-16.
Furthermore, it seems absurd to trust pilots with an aircraft full of passengers, but not trust them to have a pistol. Most commercial pilots are ex-military and have had ample training with firearms. And all commercial pilots are people who know how to stay calm in a stressful situation. A hefty majority of the pilots want to carry personal firearms. They should be allowed to do so.
Just as it is now a given that passengers and crew will resist the hijackers, you can be sure that it is now a given among terrorists that mere box cutters will not be sufficient to take over an aircraft. The flaw in airport security is that the screening stations are well away from the boarding areas. Between those screening areas and the boarding areas are long corridors with offices, restrooms, shops and snack bars. It does not require much imagination to persuade one of the hundreds of people in those areas to plant a firearm for a terrorist who can retrieve it after he's been screened.
And if the government is really serious about Americans being on continuing alert and watching out for terrorists, then it should encourage firearm ownership and pass a national right-to-carry law. A very scholarly work proves that privately owned firearms prevent more crimes than there are crimes committed with firearms. In Israel, private citizens wielding their own firearms have often cut terrorist attacks short.
Encouraging the public to go about their daily lives while armed would also greatly cut down on the crime rate, not to mention improving people's manners. Two of the most famous outlaw gangs, the James Gang and the Daltons, were shot to pieces not by lawmen or Pinkerton detectives, but by the citizens of the towns they tried to rob.
If you want to know how little that elitists think of us common folks, just watch the reaction to this suggestion. The whole business of gun control is based on the fear of the common people by the elite. Maybe the elite have a guilty conscience and want to keep the common folks unarmed in case the folks figure out how they've been taken advantage of.
When the Florida Legislature was debating a right-to-carry law, I had to listen to really ridiculous predictions from my elitist comrades in the news racket. "Oh, if people can carry guns, there will be shootouts in the supermarkets and at every traffic signal." It was all rubbish. The law passed. A couple of hundred thousand people have permits, and the violent-crime rate has gone down, not increased.
I asked one of my elitist friends, "Do you really think your fellow citizens are stupid and mad?" The answer was "Yes." Nothing is so conducive to making a fool of oneself than a small brain and a big ego.
I say, arm the American public and then watch our country become safe and peaceful once again.
During WW II we had a good security system because we had the government and the public on the same side. We don't have a good security system now because of the government insistence that they must control everything.
Bingo! You nailed it. We are being sold a bill of good (again) by our own government! Armed pilots would be another layer of security, and would help deter acts of Terrorism. The government is just trying to cater to the all of the stupid Liberal wussies that mess their pants anytime someone mentions guns!! When will our Society stop listening to these idiots!?!
Not to mention all of the Status Quo junkies!
ASA Arming Pilots
In a monumental decision following the attacks of September 11th, regional carrier Atlantic Southeast Airlines has elected to arm its pilots. After much research, the Delta Connection carrier has decided on a hand-held stun gun (see attached photo). Weapon delivers a distracting sting from up to four feet. Pilots will be trained on its use and safe handling.
"Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see that a pilot shooting a terrorist in a cockpit is any more dangerous than air marshals having a gunfight out amongst the passengers. And certainly a gun in the cockpit is less dangerous than being blown out of the sky by an F-16. "
Note that the pilot's job is not to use a firearm to intervene in anything that's happening in the cabin. His job is to keep control of the cockpit--if need be by shooting anyone who tries to break in. If he lands a plane full of corpses slain by a knife-wielding maniac, that's still better than letting the maniac take over the controls.
When Americans say: "I'M NOT GONNA FLY ON THAT PLANE, UNLESS I KNOW THAT THE PILOT CAN KEEP ME SAFE", we'll have air-travel again.
More likely is the Pilots simply refusing to fly anymore, after the next aircraft is destroyed by a terrorist.
Arm the Pilots --- It's a no-brainer to everybody in the whole Country, except Washingtoon! I'm sick of their shit! You guys fight this one - I voted for GWB, and he shoulda done better! Maybe we'll get an American again, someday........FRegards
And this is what your current "elected" Republican government thinks of you too.
Whatever happened to the ALPA on this one? Back in September and October, I thought they were about to go out on strike over the "carry" thing, and it suddenly went away (like a lot of stuff does).
It'll take one or two more 'terrorist' incidents of crashing-airplanes before the Airline-Pilots wake up!
In the meantime, the NTSB will tell you that it's "Pilot-Error"!
Goodbye, Delta, and Goodbye, American, and a sad Goodbye to United Air Lines, and a warm-Hello to the First Airline Company that arms its Pilots!!
How F*CKING STUPID do you have to be, to ignore the obvious??
No body is more pissed-off than me about this, but WE ALL SHOULD BE!!
I guess it's time to buy a small aircraft again, and piss-on the FAA.......FRegards
[FLIGHT ATTENDANTS STEP INTO THE FRAY: Why stop with the pilots? Why not give the flight attendants guns as well? That's what the 50,000-member union, the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), is advocating.
The union recently took a stand against arming pilots, unless the cockpit crew was required to leave its fortified sanctuary and defend the main cabin. Not surprisingly, the Air Line Pilots Association says pilots, and their weapons, should stay in the cockpit. At AVweb, we're wondering when the pax are going to get together and demand their right to bear arms.
NOTE: AVweb's NewsWire at http://avweb.com/n/?19b includes more details, plus a link to the complete text of the AFA press release about guns on airplanes.]
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