[cynicom]

Damned idiots... Wait til the first terrorist gets on a flight with a knife and starts cutting throats til the pilot opens the door. It will happen.

[TomGuy]

Damned idiots... Wait til the first terrorist gets on a flight with a knife and starts cutting throats til the pilot opens the door. It will happen.

Exactly...

Hijacker to pilot: Open the door or we will slit the throat of a passenger every 5 minutes!

What pilot is going to sit by, stay in his seat, knowing that is going on on the other side of the door.

These terrorists are not -- ARE NOT -- humanitarians. They are bloodthirsty killers --BLOODTHIRSTY KILLERS.

How loudly do we have to scream that before the Administration and Congress get a clue?

[supercat]

Wait til the first terrorist gets on a flight with a knife and starts cutting throats til the pilot opens the door. It will happen.

An the pilot's job would be to remain behind the locked cockpit door while landing the plane as quickly as practical, with a gun ready in case someone tries to break into the cockpit.

If terrorists start slashing people's throats, they are going to have all the passengers against them. Four terrorists armed with knives might be able to fatally injure a dozen or so people before being subdued, but the numbers would be so vastly against the terrorists the carnage would be limitted.

More significantly, I don't think a terrorist attack which was fought off--even with loss of innocent life--would have nearly the psychological impact on the country as one which wasn't, even if the latter resulted in fewer innocent casualties.