Guns are safe???

In the aftermath of September 11th, 2001 the airline industry has some head scratching to do. Too many people died for no better reason than someone could kick in the cockpit doors. Had they not got knives, the same might have been accomplished with a foot long piece of broom handle. We cannot legislate people to walk onto aircraft naked, nor can we think of all the things they can over power people with.

Gun safety?

Putting Federal Marshal's on the flights is a neat idea, but suddenly there is a gun on board. If the Marshal is over powered, that gun will be in the wrong hands.

Putting guns in the cockpit for the pilots to use is an asinine suggestion. The pilots have too many things to consider, like flying the plane, to be able to wield a gun. A random discharge in the cockpit could have untold consequences.

A move was made by one airline to put in new reinforced bullet proof, dead bolt doors in place of the plastic they currently have. This is a good move. However, it is still capable of being opened, and there is no saying when a potential hijacker will make his move.

Lack of access

The Military operates many sensitive intelligence aircraft where the cockpits are sealed from the main body of the aircraft, not to protect the crew from the passengers, but to protect the passengers and what they are doing, from the crew. Crew go in one door, passengers another. The same could be put into effect on civil airliners.

By placing a plug in the airframe behind the cockpit, with a door either side, toilet and kitchen facilities, the cockpit could be sealed off from the rest of the aircraft. The pilot is meant to inspect his aircraft before boarding it, so boarding the plane from a step ladder on the opposite side to the normal jetway would hardly be an issue. On flights that have longer operation, longer plugs or more space on the main compartment would have to be used to allow for added crew members. 747 Jumbo jets, provide a problem, but maybe the closing of the entire upper deck is not beyond the realm of reason.

There are issues with the power of the captain in these lock down situations, but as the pilots are now in their own world, the delegation of passenger control can be handed directly to the cabin crew. This would require minor changes to FAA rules.

Should a passenger get a gun, then in using it, puncture the fuselage the crew has to respond rapidly to the situation. Direct two way communications (monitors and cameras) would allow the crew to see the cabin, maybe even the outside of it to see skin damage (there have been calls to place cameras on the tails for years.) Crews need to be trained in how to get aircraft out of the sky rapidly and safely in explosive decompression situations. This training is evidenced by the failure of the Swiss Air flight in 1998 to get down, because the crew seemed unable to actually fly the thing, only being really good at managing the computer systems. Pilots will have to be given additional stick and rudder training and a measure of understanding as to how they can use the flight controls in extremis, to get the aircraft down rapidly.

Backup Plans

If airport security works, then the passengers are unlikely to get on-board a flight with a gun, or explosives. We don't want to furnish these people with these tools. We also want a second line of defense that makes the act of hijacking such a remote possibility that even a determined attacker does not succeed. Reinforced, non- opening cockpit doors, or sealed cockpits, are a good start to a solution. Guns are not, and never have been, the solution to stopping hijackers.