By Tracy W. Price and Roger Waldman
Aviation Week and Space Technology, 22 October 2001
Of the many proposals to enhance aviation security in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S., none may be more controversial than arming aircrews. To explore the pros and cons, Aviation Week & Space Technology turned to two veteran airline captains. Tracy W. Price, who flies Boeing 737s for a major carrier, argues in favor. Roger Waldman, a U.S. citizen who flew for Air Canada, argues against firearms on the flight deck.
Airliners offer a very "soft" target to potential terrorists. Since the 1970s, all passengers have been screened to ensure that weapons were not carried on board an aircraft. Since late 1987, pilots have undergone the same screening. The result is a virtual guarantee to terrorists that if they can bring weapons on board, they will be the only armed persons and thus able to take command of the aircraft.
Security can and should be improved, but we should recognize that even the best security has limitations. Increasing security measures alone could serve to offer an even greater assurance to criminals that if they can get any kind of weapon on board an aircraft, there will be no one there who will be able to offer any significant resistance. Strengthening security without "hardening" the target could actually make an airliner a more attractive target to terrorists.
Equipping pilots of large commercial airliners with carefully selected firearms and ammunition and giving them specialized training would be a simple, effective, inexpensive and sensible way to harden the airliner target. Airline pilots are among the most highly trained and carefully screened professionals in the world. They are routine- and procedure-oriented, and the majority have undergone military training. They are level-headed, stable, dedicated to safety and willingly embrace their responsibility to passengers. Airline pilots are ready to make critical decisions quickly. The safety record of airline travel is, in part, a testimony to how well airline pilots perform under very stressful, sometimes life-and- death, circumstances.
No one is more aware of the seriousness of an inflight firearm discharge than the pilots at the controls, and no one is in a better position to judge whether the use of a firearm is prudent. It is illogical not to trust these pilots with firearms to be used in defense of their passengers and their aircraft.
Some say that arming pilots could make a hijacking situation worse. But if a terrorist boards an aircraft with a weapon, he is in charge. If he gains control of firearms in the cockpit, this situation has not substantially worsened. Moreover, disarming properly trained pilots would be very difficult considering that pilots are locked in the cockpit and presumably would be forewarned by the loud attempts to break down the cockpit door.
By arming pilots we would put them in a position to prevent criminals from taking control of the aircraft in the first place. In fact, by simply publicizing the fact that the pilots are armed, the likelihood that attacks like the ones that occurred on Sept. 11 would be attempted again will be drastically reduced.
Others argue that carrying guns on board airliners should be left to the trained professionals, the air marshals. I agree that the air marshal program should be expanded. However, we probably will never have enough resources to put a marshal on every flight. And even if a marshal is on board, there's no guarantee that he or she will not be overwhelmed by trained attackers bent on suicide. But the simple fact is this: Only by gaining access to the cockpit can terrorists use an airliner as a weapon.
Finally, some suggest that strengthening cockpit doors will solve this problem. Of course, cockpit doors need to be strengthened, but that alone will not solve the problem. There are limits on how strong and heavy the doors can be, and consideration must be given to rescue of the pilots in the event of an accident. A determined attacker will be able to defeat even the strongest of doors. A stronger door will work in concert with an armed cockpit flight crew to enhance airline security, providing the pilots with a clear warning that a serious threat is imminent.
We all know that the world changed forever on Sept. 11 and we can never again afford to think of hijacking in the way we did before. The arguments against arming airline pilots fail to make the critical distinction between the "old" and "new" hijacking threats.
Give me and my colleagues the tools we need to deal with this new threat. Give us what we need to defend our passengers and prevent our airplanes from again being used as weapons against our country. Nothing will do more to deter a repeat of the events of Sept. 11--and restore passenger confidence--more quickly or effectively than the knowledge that pilots can offer a final line of defense to a terrorist threat.
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Citation: Tracy W. Price and Roger Waldman. "Armed pilots would supplement security,"
Aviation Week and Space Technology, 22 October 2001.
Original URL: http://www.aviationnow.com/content/publication/awst/20011022/avi_view.htm
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