Point

Armed pilots aid security
by April Ozuna, reporter

    Arming pilots in the cockpit is a step we Americans must take to ensure the safety of aircraft cabins and reduce the threat of terrorism.

    A pilot with a gun would not be a single solution to the war on terrorism, but would act as another deterrent.

    Passengers already entrust their lives to these men and women every day, so it seems strange that one would question their ability to responsibly carry a gun.

    If pilots were armed, they would undergo training and be deputized as Federal law enforcement officials.

    The idea that pilots are incapable of handling the responsibility is absurd. It is common knowledge that to become a pilot, one must go through rigorous and lengthy training.

    In addition to the work a pilot does in the classroom, he or she must have successfully logged a minimum of 1000-1500 hours to be considered for employment with a major airline. Training for police work takes much less time than does the training for commercial airline pilots.

    Furthermore, like police officers, pilots must pass a grueling psychological test to weed out 'risk takers,' unstable or undisciplined candidates.

    In April, the Allied Pilots Association posted a petition on its Web site calling for the arming of pilots.

    "Common sense and logic dictate that the men and women we trust each day with our lives when we board an airliner can and should be trusted with firearms in order to provide the critical last line of defense," the statement said.

    United Airlines purchased more than 1,300 stun guns and is training 9,000 pilots to use them; the pilots' union claims a stun gun is simply not enough. The electrical current would only disable a hijacker temporarily and would not be useful against a group of hijackers.

    Steel, bulletproof doors are not enough. Well-trained terrorists can blow a strongly reinforced door off its hinges using a thin thread of malleable explosive that can pass undetected through security.

    Also, terrorists have been known to bring items on aircraft such as guns that look like cell phones and fountain pens with cylindrical blades that can inflict neck wounds that will not stop bleeding.

    Guns used in planes would require special ammunition known as frangible bullets, which deteriorate upon impact, preventing them from piercing the fuselage or airplane windows.

    Also it helps that the powerful pressurization controls, as well as the location and redundancy of aircraft electronic, hydraulic and other systems, vastly reduce the probability that even multiple wayward gun shotsÑeven bullets that are not frangibleÑwould cripple an aircraft.

    It is unlikely that a pilot would ever be forced to carry a gun. He or she would have the option, and a terrorist would not know if a pilot was armed or not.

    Steel doors are indeed a deterrent, but are useless if a pilot needs to use the lavatory, obtain meal service or leave the cockpit when trading shifts with backup crews on long hauls.

    If pilots can use lethal force to protect their aircraft, terrorists will certainly have a much more difficult time hijacking a plane. One can never be too safe.