Many safeguards for airline travelers have been implemented in the year since the Sept. 11 attacks, including banning sharp objects on airplanes, beefed up security at airports and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. However, one possible security measure is still being hotly debated-whether pilots of commercial airliners should be armed. On the surface, arming pilots has great appeal. It is easy to envision the armed pilot facing down last year’s terrorists, shooting them dead and saving 3,000 American lives. Just the knowledge that pilots are armed could deter potential terrorists.
Armed pilots would have an option of force-one that may still be needed despite increases in security. A surprising number and variety of weapons slipped through airport security and were later found on the aircraft or in random searches. Six-inch knives and semi-automatic pistols have been found in this manner.
Furthermore, pilots are already entrusted with their passengers’ lives. Most are former military officers trained to handle crisis situations. The Air Line Pilots Association, with 62,000 members, supports arming pilots.
Even so, arming pilots has its hazards as well. A pilot’s job is to fly the airplane, and if he is defending the plane against a terrorist, he is not flying it. While the modern autopilots on airliners easily handle normal situations, any terrorist action is an emergency in need of a pilot’s attention. So, even with two pilots on the flight deck, the extra responsibility takes away from the primary function of the pilot-controlling the airplane.
Arming pilots would also place a heavy training and stress burden on people who already spend large amounts of time at work, training and flying. Airline pilots may work 20 days a month, spending much of this time in long (eight or more hours) flights and in layovers away from home.
Not much time is left for either basic firearms training or the equally necessary intensive crisis training, both of which are ongoing processes. Without training, an armed pilot would be a hazard. If pilots receive the proper firearms training, then their pilot training will suffer. That is an unacceptable risk because most problems in the air are from aircraft, not terrorists.
Armed, highly trained deterrents already exist-air marshals. Since last year’s attacks, the revitalized air marshal program has been expanding rapidly. Air marshals train specifically to stop terrorist crime in the air and, unlike pilots, are able to devote all of their training to safely stopping the terrorists.
While air marshals are not present on every flight, their increasing numbers and random schedules present a large deterrence against future terrorism. Also, Air Marshals travel incognito, granting them a large element of surprise over the terrorists. If the pilots are armed, the terrorists know exactly with whom they must deal.
Other security measures protecting the pilots have been recommended, including bulletproof doors and closed-circuit television for observing the passengers. These would slow a terrorist, greatly increasing the chances of the pilot getting the aircraft on the ground. Sleeping gas administered in the passenger cabin could also be used to neutralize terrorists.
Dissenting ALPA pilots have suggested that arming pilots could lead to “cowboy,” or reckless, actions-such as trying to face down and provoking an otherwise non-violent hijacker- especially given the fighter pilot pasts of many airliner crews. Even if the pilot is not reckless, an attempt to save a passenger about to be executed (who could fault that?) will put a pilot, and thus the entire aircraft and people on the ground, in unnecessary danger. An armed pilot can only use his weapon as a last-ditch defense.
While arming pilots may be an effective deterrent, significant risks go along with it. Arming and training pilots threatens their utility as pilots. Other safeguards, especially air marshals, offer equal or more effective deterrent and protection.
Armed pilots, if reckless or inadequately trained, are dangers themselves. If pilots are to be armed, it should only be done after all other possible defenses have been explored and only if they can be adequately trained in both flying and firearms.
Nathan Alday is a junior aerospace engineering major. Send comments to [email protected].