Armed Pilots
View Poll Results: Will armed pilots make you:-
Feel safer?
36
64.29%
Feel worried?
5
8.93%
not affect your feelings?
15
26.79%
Voters: 56. You may not vote on this poll
Armed Pilots
Elder User
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 772
Likes: 1
From: Victoria Canada
Armed Pilots
Originally posted by hrbib21
YIKES!!! You are correct about the training, though.
YIKES!!! You are correct about the training, though.
Rick
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 109
Likes: 0
Armed Pilots
i think the pilots being armed is soo stupid. Now there will be guns on the plane and hi-jackers dont have to worry about getting weapons through security.
Who's to say that that pilot is going to be able to keep posession of his gun in the event of a hi-jacking?
Future hi-jackers are probably plotting on how they can get the guns from the pilot right now.
Seriously, just kick in the door to the cockpit, smash the pilots in the head or something and take the gun. This is a mistake, im all for guns and stuff but i dont want them on a crowded plane period.
Who's to say that that pilot is going to be able to keep posession of his gun in the event of a hi-jacking?
Future hi-jackers are probably plotting on how they can get the guns from the pilot right now.
Seriously, just kick in the door to the cockpit, smash the pilots in the head or something and take the gun. This is a mistake, im all for guns and stuff but i dont want them on a crowded plane period.
Posting Guru
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,416
Likes: 4
From: PacNW
Armed Pilots
Like I said, flying is a whole different ballgame than it was pre- 9/11. I can pretty much guarantee that unless you happen to hijack a flight full of nuns you're not going to have the chance to get into the cockpit. You take 1 kick at one of the new steel reinforced cockpit doors and you'll have a plane full of very angry passengers descend on your sorry butt and beat you to half to death with their bare hands.
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 559
Likes: 0
From: Toledo, Ohio
Armed Pilots
Originally posted by amwxx
wow thats funny because i have. Look, that was just a fast explanation. I dont know all the specs on cockpits or whatever but if a hijacker wanted to, they would find a way to get to the pilot.
wow thats funny because i have. Look, that was just a fast explanation. I dont know all the specs on cockpits or whatever but if a hijacker wanted to, they would find a way to get to the pilot.
Elder User
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 858
Likes: 0
From: Kentucky
Armed Pilots
Airline pilots have to be some of the most cool-under-fire people around. I have no doubt that if they can handle a jumbo jet full of people in a crisis, they can also handle a 9mm with good training. That said, a tough cockpit door that gives them time to put the jet down in a safe spot seems to make the most sense, with the handgun being a good final option.
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New User
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 0
Likes: 24
Armed Pilots
You know, Everybody seems to keep talking about the re-inforced DOOR.
I would have liked to hear from Boeing or Airbus,what they are going to do to the Bulkhead to make them them Bulletproof?
That whole area should be bulletproof,tamperproof.
But,
Then there is the Psychological makeup of the flight crew that would need some thought too.
This isn't just about a DOOR.
Guns: Short range but effective ammo.
What to do after the gun is empty and the person/s isn't dead yet?
How about Tazers ?
I would have liked to hear from Boeing or Airbus,what they are going to do to the Bulkhead to make them them Bulletproof?
That whole area should be bulletproof,tamperproof.
But,
Then there is the Psychological makeup of the flight crew that would need some thought too.
This isn't just about a DOOR.
Guns: Short range but effective ammo.
What to do after the gun is empty and the person/s isn't dead yet?
How about Tazers ?
Posting Guru
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,416
Likes: 4
From: PacNW
Armed Pilots
The idea behind the reinforced door is to keep the bad guys out. If a terrorist manages to get his own gun on the plane then a bullet proof cockpit isn't going to stop him from taking control of the plane...at least temporarily anyway.
Crew psychology isn't really a huge issue since these pilots hold the lives of hundreds of thousands of passengers in their hands every year. If they wanted to commit suicide all they would have to do is stuff a 757 and that would be that. I will say that having them armed does make it easier for a single deranged pilot to take over a plane.
A 9MM loaded with Glaser Safety Slugs is one of the most effective short range weapons systems ever invented for disabling a human being. Even the smallest 9MM pistols will hold a minimum of 11 rounds and 10 more in a seperate clip. A person hit with 1 or 2 rounds is going to go down. Period.
Crew psychology isn't really a huge issue since these pilots hold the lives of hundreds of thousands of passengers in their hands every year. If they wanted to commit suicide all they would have to do is stuff a 757 and that would be that. I will say that having them armed does make it easier for a single deranged pilot to take over a plane.
A 9MM loaded with Glaser Safety Slugs is one of the most effective short range weapons systems ever invented for disabling a human being. Even the smallest 9MM pistols will hold a minimum of 11 rounds and 10 more in a seperate clip. A person hit with 1 or 2 rounds is going to go down. Period.
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 109
Likes: 0
Armed Pilots
you cant assume that the passengers on the plane are going to do anything. What if theres only a few passengers on the plane? Whos to say that the hijacker isnt good at fighting anyway. Even if the pilot has a gun and is trained he can still be killed or have his gun taken away from him. What if he is scared to shoot or something. I wouldnt trust some pilot to save the day. Just because he is trained dosent mean everythings just going to work out. So many different scenarios can happen.
Posting Guru
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,416
Likes: 4
From: PacNW
Armed Pilots
There's always a million "what ifs" and there's no single solution to address all of them. I think the probabilities are very high that the passengers would do something and if there's anyone on the plane who's more qualified to handle themselves appropriately in a tense situation then it's the pilot, assuming there's not an Air Marshall on board. As far as a hijacker being "good at fighting" I think you've been watching too many Bruce Lee movies. Nobody is going to be able to fend off a half dozen or so attackers especially in the confines of a commerical airliner cabin.
I still don't feel all that much safer knowing that the pilots of the plane I'm on might or might not be armed but it's nice to know it's one more thing for a potential hijacker to have to consider also.
I still don't feel all that much safer knowing that the pilots of the plane I'm on might or might not be armed but it's nice to know it's one more thing for a potential hijacker to have to consider also.
Thread Starter
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Postmaster
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 3,628
Likes: 0
From: Baileyton, TN
Armed Pilots
Kicking a cockpit door in to get at a pilot is no longer a viable option for hijackers. Unfortunately the training needed for pilots to resist the vilest of hijackers is not available. A precedent has been set, whereby a hijacker need only rip the throat out of a girl, and toss them down the aisle to get the attention of the pilots. Training someone to ignore it, as a vicious and cowardly person hacks to death ones passengers is very hard to provide. The tragic occurrences of 9-11-2001 did not involve forced entry into the cockpit. The pilots opened the doors: Had they have been armed, the situation would have been vastly different.
Theo
Theo
Elder User
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 899
Likes: 0
From: 5600 feet high
Armed Pilots
I would definitely feel safer knowing the pilots are strapped.
The only thing that bugs me is that if some Taliban John wacko decided to make a career out of flying commercial airliners and he was issued a 9mm.
We can speculate all we want about if it would be safer or not, but I think the reality of it is that once the chips fall, nobody has any idea what's gonna happen. It's simply not possible to plan for everything. I just like my odds alot better knowing the pilots have deadly force available to save my life.
BDV
The only thing that bugs me is that if some Taliban John wacko decided to make a career out of flying commercial airliners and he was issued a 9mm.
We can speculate all we want about if it would be safer or not, but I think the reality of it is that once the chips fall, nobody has any idea what's gonna happen. It's simply not possible to plan for everything. I just like my odds alot better knowing the pilots have deadly force available to save my life.
BDV
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 559
Likes: 0
From: Toledo, Ohio
Armed Pilots
Ignore the screams of the Stewardesses and passengers if they can't help them. It's along the same lines as not dealing with terrorists...sorry about your luck...wrong place...wrong time...it's your time to go. May the Lord be with you. Some will die so that many will live. I don't fly anymore and never will.