In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.
The Armed Pilot
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
The Armed Pilot
A Cautionary Tale
By David Codrea
Codrea4@adelphia.net
July 4, 2002
"Cap! Wait up!"
Rusty turned. It was Whitlock, his first officer, clutching the shoulder strap of her carry-on as she jogged to catch up.
"Ready for the gauntlet?" she joked.
He smiled. That was ONE way to think of it. "For all the good it'll do."
"I heard the armed pilots bill is stalled in committee again," she offered.
"It's the president's fault," he replied. "He could have ordered an end to this nonsense months ago if he wanted to, without involving anyone else."
They reached the checkpoint. Rusty hoisted his bag onto the conveyor. He produced his ID and walked through the metal detector, setting off the alarm.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys.
Bonehead!
"Step over here," the gum-chewing security officer motioned. Rusty hadn't recalled seeing this one before. The guard scanned him with his wand and patted him down.
"Take off your shoes," he ordered.
"What.?" Rusty stared, incredulous. "Are you for real?"
"Take off your shoes," the guard repeated, his tone all the more insistent by its lack of emotion. A backup officer approached the pilot from the rear.
"Idiotic." Rusty began, then shrugged and stooped down to untie his laces. "What the hell."
"Hey, who's the genius in charge of rules?" Whitlock challenged. "This is the captain of the damn plane. Do you think if he wanted to bring it down he'd need a damn bomb?"
"Ma'am, please stand back, now," the second officer warned. "We don't tell you how to do YOUR job."
"That's true," she shot back. "Ours takes longer than two weeks to learn."
"It's OK, Lisa," Rusty intervened. "Let's just get this nonsense over with and get on board."
"Alliance-Transnational, Captain Carl H. Russell," the guard read, comparing Rusty to his photo ID, then handing it back to him. "OK, you can go. Both of you."
Whitlock rubbed her eye with her middle finger as she walked past.
"We're just doing our job," the officer called after them.
"So what's with Bush, anyway?" Whitlock asked, flicking an overhead switch. "I mean, Alcee Hastings, of all people, told Sean Hannity he thought we should have guns. Even Barbara-goddam-Boxer said so! Talk about role reversals!"
Rusty shook his head. "Curtis over at APSA thinks its pure politics -- wanting to have somebody else take the fall in case we miss the bad guys and blow away some soccer mom. And I think the administration is betting we won't see another takeover."
"Right," she rolled her eyes. "Mutt and Jeff over at airport security must have Osama's boys paralyzed by their raw competency. Anyway, it's OUR lives they're gambling with. Meanwhile, ATA lobbyists put the squeeze on Bush, and he figures he can just keep quiet -- let Magaw and Mineta be his front men and take all the heat."
"It's all about liability and control," she added. "That's the damnedest thing. Those bastards and the politicians they've bought will risk another World Trade Center because of it. Will you be following up with the union?"
"Not immediately," Rusty replied. "They still don't have anywhere near the numbers yet for a walkout. Our esteemed colleagues just don't have the belly for a real fight, and that's what it's gonna take. Too many of 'em are asleep at the switch, more worried about their damned golf scores, or else they don't really believe it can happen again. Besides, I'm off for a few weeks, remember?"
"Oh, yeah, that's right, reserves" she recalled. "They won't trust you with a .38 when you fly THIS plane, but change uniforms and strap on a Falcon and you get to play with a 20 mm cannon and half a dozen air-to-air missiles."
"I'll try not to hit any soccer moms," he promised.
The F-16 screamed as it climbed above the cloud bank. Rusty always felt so alive in this bird.
"Hammer Two, Patuxent Advisory," the radio broke in on the frequency for the restricted area Rusty was in. "Contact Beck One on two four six point four." They were switching him to a military GCI, a ground control intercept facility.
"Roger, Patuxent, Hammer Two, contact Beck One on two four six point four . Beck One, Hammer Two with you on two four six point four, out of Angels two three for three zero, over Bloodsworth Island," Rusty answered, still climbing.
What's this about?
What he heard next left him stunned.
"Hammer Two, we have Code Red, repeat Code Red. Snap three three zero degrees, climb to angels three five . target BRAA three six zero degrees, one five six nautical miles, three five thousand feet, beam . . you are cleared for supersonic."
Target.
Rusty changed course and increased throttle. He swallowed hard.
"Roger, Beck One, Hammer Two, Code Red. Snap three three zero degrees, climb to angels three five . target BRAA three six zero degrees, one five six nautical miles, three five thousand feet, beam . clear supersonic..."
"Hammer Two, readback correct."
What the hell is going on?
"Bogie dope?" he managed.
"Worst nightmare. Intel says five, maybe six hostiles. Target nonresponsive and off course, heading Pittsburgh. Everybody's scrambling. You're the nearest thing we've got in the air."
Rusty felt a white hot knife twisting through his gut.
"Who is it?"
"Alliance-Transnational 673, JFK to LAX."
Oh, Jesus, no...
The pilot locked onto his target and sent the Sidewinder rocketing into the 747.
He could barely speak and forced the words out. They sounded detached to him, surreal.
"Fox Two."
He pulled up and away in a wide arc, and watched his airliner and his friends explode and plummet in an orange and black inferno, and then slam and disintegrate into the green hills near Latrobe.
Special thanks to Russ Howard for providing the inspiration for this story as well as technical research and advice.
David Codrea is a co-founder and director for the national pro-rights media campaign, Citizens of America (CitizensOfAmerica.org), and an advisor and contributor for KeepAndBearArms.com. His professional writing is featured often in Guns and Ammo magazine. Additionally, he is the national coordinator for A Petition for the Enforcement of the Second Amendment (KeepAndBearArms.com/Petition). His archives can be accessed here: KeepAndBearArms.com/Codrea.
Be sure to read the companion article that very much complements this one:
Homeland Insanity
by Russ Howard
And do visit the KeepAndBearArms.com Airplanes & Guns archives here: http://www.KeepAndBearArms.com/AirRKBA.
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
A Cautionary Tale
By David Codrea
Codrea4@adelphia.net
July 4, 2002
"Cap! Wait up!"
Rusty turned. It was Whitlock, his first officer, clutching the shoulder strap of her carry-on as she jogged to catch up.
"Ready for the gauntlet?" she joked.
He smiled. That was ONE way to think of it. "For all the good it'll do."
"I heard the armed pilots bill is stalled in committee again," she offered.
"It's the president's fault," he replied. "He could have ordered an end to this nonsense months ago if he wanted to, without involving anyone else."
They reached the checkpoint. Rusty hoisted his bag onto the conveyor. He produced his ID and walked through the metal detector, setting off the alarm.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys.
Bonehead!
"Step over here," the gum-chewing security officer motioned. Rusty hadn't recalled seeing this one before. The guard scanned him with his wand and patted him down.
"Take off your shoes," he ordered.
"What.?" Rusty stared, incredulous. "Are you for real?"
"Take off your shoes," the guard repeated, his tone all the more insistent by its lack of emotion. A backup officer approached the pilot from the rear.
"Idiotic." Rusty began, then shrugged and stooped down to untie his laces. "What the hell."
"Hey, who's the genius in charge of rules?" Whitlock challenged. "This is the captain of the damn plane. Do you think if he wanted to bring it down he'd need a damn bomb?"
"Ma'am, please stand back, now," the second officer warned. "We don't tell you how to do YOUR job."
"That's true," she shot back. "Ours takes longer than two weeks to learn."
"It's OK, Lisa," Rusty intervened. "Let's just get this nonsense over with and get on board."
"Alliance-Transnational, Captain Carl H. Russell," the guard read, comparing Rusty to his photo ID, then handing it back to him. "OK, you can go. Both of you."
Whitlock rubbed her eye with her middle finger as she walked past.
"We're just doing our job," the officer called after them.
"So what's with Bush, anyway?" Whitlock asked, flicking an overhead switch. "I mean, Alcee Hastings, of all people, told Sean Hannity he thought we should have guns. Even Barbara-goddam-Boxer said so! Talk about role reversals!"
Rusty shook his head. "Curtis over at APSA thinks its pure politics -- wanting to have somebody else take the fall in case we miss the bad guys and blow away some soccer mom. And I think the administration is betting we won't see another takeover."
"Right," she rolled her eyes. "Mutt and Jeff over at airport security must have Osama's boys paralyzed by their raw competency. Anyway, it's OUR lives they're gambling with. Meanwhile, ATA lobbyists put the squeeze on Bush, and he figures he can just keep quiet -- let Magaw and Mineta be his front men and take all the heat."
"It's all about liability and control," she added. "That's the damnedest thing. Those bastards and the politicians they've bought will risk another World Trade Center because of it. Will you be following up with the union?"
"Not immediately," Rusty replied. "They still don't have anywhere near the numbers yet for a walkout. Our esteemed colleagues just don't have the belly for a real fight, and that's what it's gonna take. Too many of 'em are asleep at the switch, more worried about their damned golf scores, or else they don't really believe it can happen again. Besides, I'm off for a few weeks, remember?"
"Oh, yeah, that's right, reserves" she recalled. "They won't trust you with a .38 when you fly THIS plane, but change uniforms and strap on a Falcon and you get to play with a 20 mm cannon and half a dozen air-to-air missiles."
"I'll try not to hit any soccer moms," he promised.
The F-16 screamed as it climbed above the cloud bank. Rusty always felt so alive in this bird.
"Hammer Two, Patuxent Advisory," the radio broke in on the frequency for the restricted area Rusty was in. "Contact Beck One on two four six point four." They were switching him to a military GCI, a ground control intercept facility.
"Roger, Patuxent, Hammer Two, contact Beck One on two four six point four . Beck One, Hammer Two with you on two four six point four, out of Angels two three for three zero, over Bloodsworth Island," Rusty answered, still climbing.
What's this about?
What he heard next left him stunned.
"Hammer Two, we have Code Red, repeat Code Red. Snap three three zero degrees, climb to angels three five . target BRAA three six zero degrees, one five six nautical miles, three five thousand feet, beam . . you are cleared for supersonic."
Target.
Rusty changed course and increased throttle. He swallowed hard.
"Roger, Beck One, Hammer Two, Code Red. Snap three three zero degrees, climb to angels three five . target BRAA three six zero degrees, one five six nautical miles, three five thousand feet, beam . clear supersonic..."
"Hammer Two, readback correct."
What the hell is going on?
"Bogie dope?" he managed.
"Worst nightmare. Intel says five, maybe six hostiles. Target nonresponsive and off course, heading Pittsburgh. Everybody's scrambling. You're the nearest thing we've got in the air."
Rusty felt a white hot knife twisting through his gut.
"Who is it?"
"Alliance-Transnational 673, JFK to LAX."
Oh, Jesus, no...
The pilot locked onto his target and sent the Sidewinder rocketing into the 747.
He could barely speak and forced the words out. They sounded detached to him, surreal.
"Fox Two."
He pulled up and away in a wide arc, and watched his airliner and his friends explode and plummet in an orange and black inferno, and then slam and disintegrate into the green hills near Latrobe.
Special thanks to Russ Howard for providing the inspiration for this story as well as technical research and advice.
David Codrea is a co-founder and director for the national pro-rights media campaign, Citizens of America (CitizensOfAmerica.org), and an advisor and contributor for KeepAndBearArms.com. His professional writing is featured often in Guns and Ammo magazine. Additionally, he is the national coordinator for A Petition for the Enforcement of the Second Amendment (KeepAndBearArms.com/Petition). His archives can be accessed here: KeepAndBearArms.com/Codrea.
Be sure to read the companion article that very much complements this one:
Homeland Insanity
by Russ Howard
And do visit the KeepAndBearArms.com Airplanes & Guns archives here: http://www.KeepAndBearArms.com/AirRKBA.
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Comments
By Russ Howard
RussHoward@bigfoot.net
July 4, 2002
A few weeks ago, I flew SouthWest Air, L.A. to Albuquerque, for a wedding. First airline flight for me since 9/11. I was THIS close to flying myself out there in a Cherokee Archer, but I thought I'd give SW a try since I had some credit, it was 1/3 the cost, and I wanted to see for myself how absurd our head-in-the-sand "Homeland Security" system really was.
I showed up late, since there's no way in hell I'm ever going to show up two hours early for a flight unless there's a damned good reason.
Declining for PC considerations to rationally profile passengers, and refusing to arm pilots out of an irrational fear of guns, are not good reasons.
The line, over 2 hours long, snaked through the terminal, out the door, and down to the middle of the next terminal. Major cluster hose. I waited about 10 minutes and was about to leave when they came by asking everyone whose flight was leaving within a half-hour to follow them to the head of the line.
Ha! My reward for showing up "late" was fitting punishment for the herd of American authority-worshippers who think it's our duty to thank the government for PC-strip-searching 85-year-old native born American grandmothers and Medal of Honor winners... And for fighting a "War on Terror" the way we fight the "War on Drugs" - namely by lying to ourselves - as if 100% of the terrorists are not easily profileable Muslim males; like our enemy's not openly out to exterminate the "infidel" and rekindle medieval Islamic imperialism. (Talk about retro!) Still, I felt sorry for the older folks standing in the hot sun.
I must've looked and acted "suspicious", because the Securitat boys shook me down, felt me up, and performed five or six kinds of spectrographic analyses and carbon dating on my cowboy boots. You know, probably because I was a clean, well-groomed, well-dressed, native-born American citizen of European descent who speaks perfect American English with no trace of an accent. I mean, it would've been way too obvious had I been a middle-eastern male between 18 and 45 years of age with a strong accent... They'd never try THAT again!
At least I didn't get the colonoscopy. Meanwhile, the cretins forgot to inspect my cell phone and laptop, which is where I keep most of my James Bond weapons. See, I don't like shoe bombs, because it's unseemly to blow yourself up with one boot off. Unless you're Maxwell Smart, then you can make that last call to 99.
Anyway, I ended up sitting next to an airline pilot. I took a nap, and after the seat belt light went off, I got up to go to the bathroom. I waited with this woman, chatting about the huge "security" line. Of course, I slipped in that all we had to do to avoid that mess was arm pilots. Besides, I added, thousands of lives would've been saved on 9/11 had pilots been armed. She agreed. But a flight attendant overheard us and chimed in, as he was preparing to serve snacks.
"We don't want them to have THAT power!" he said, as horrified as he would've been if my colors hadn't matched.
"That's ridiculous", I replied. "They already have a lot more power than that. You trust them with your life every day. They could fly the plane into the ground any time they want and kill everyone on board. And you don't trust them with a gun?"
"WELL! We don't want them to have THAT power!" he repeated, in a "pattycake, pattycake, guns are bad!" tone.
I was tempted to snicker, "yeah, you'd rather risk having your throat slit than arm pilots", but I rolled my eyes instead.
Meanwhile, the woman went into the bathroom and the off-duty pilot took her place behind me. He didn't say anything until the attendant left, but I thought I detected a "yeah, that's what we have to put up with" grimace.
"Hey, we're fighting for that. All the major pilot unions have endorsed it, but the airline management types are against it."
When we were both sitting down again, I asked him how long he'd been a pilot.
"30 years."
"Did you start commercial or military?", I continued.
"Military. I flew F-4s [and some other planes]. Ended up with F-16s."
"Still like flying?"
"Beats working for a living."
Had to chuckle at that, and we chatted about a few planes. I said I thought it'd be fun to fly an A-10 Warthog, and if I ever struck it rich, I'd have to look into buying one surplus when they retired them.
"So, they trusted you with bombs, but they won't trust you with a handgun. Is that about it?"
"It's better than that. A lot of our guys are pilots in the Reserves. Soon as they're off duty from a job where they're not trusted with a handgun during a war with terrorist hijackers, they go to a military base where they're trusted with a fighter jet, air-to-air missiles, and orders to intercept and destroy the same airliner they were just flying, if it gets hijacked."
"God, I hadn't thought about that", I said. "That's really crazy. Any chance the pilots would strike over this?"
He doubted it, as I figured. I told him my idea of pilots striking with their wallets, holding Bush accountable for his administration's policies and refusing to support or donate to any politician who won't work to arm pilots.
"But if we lose Bush, we'll just get someone worse in", he pointed out. "If Bush hadn't won, we probably would've run out of smart bombs and cruise missiles long ago, assuming we even fought."
I couldn't dispute that. I couldn't imagine the Gore team fighting terrorism any more than he could. I asked him if he'd heard the story about how Gore reacted to Bush's astonishment during the phone call when Gore retracted his concession. He hadn't. (Gore supposedly said, "WELL! You don't have to get SNIPPY about it!")
Widening my eyes, pursing my lips, adjusting my shoulders and head, and popping my neck a bit, I said, "Well, Mr. Bin Laden, you don't have to get SNIPPY about it". He laughed.
Yes, we might end up with someone worse. But worrying about that is what enables spineless "Republican" weasels like Bush to keep airliners defenseless, preferring to risk having to shoot them down rather than arm them. The weasel Republican establishment types KNOW that we think we have nowhere else to go, and that we think we have to support them whatever they do.
But we wouldn't lose lesser-of-two-evils Repubs if we held their feet to the fire. They'd be scared of losing their political base - or worse, turning it over to their opponent. They'd authorize flame throwers in the cockpit before it went that far.
It was a short flight and unfortunately I didn't get the pilot's name. He lives behind the mountains outside Albuquerque.
By the way, in case any airline management types are reading this:
Next time, I'll fly myself.http://www.keepandbeararms.com/information/XcIBViewItem.asp?ID=3469
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
When Congress returns next week from its Independence Day recess, we anticipate H.R. 4635 will be one of the first bills brought to the House floor for consideration. This legislation would mandate the establishment of a test program to allow as many as 1,400 properly trained commercial airline pilots to have access to firearms as a last line of defense against terrorist hijackers. The test program has bipartisan support, and would give preference to pilots with prior military or law enforcement experience. While the NRA would like to see this option extended to all properly trained flight deck crew, this legislation represents a good first step in the right direction.
The full House should take up H.R. 4635 for floor debate some time next week, perhaps as early as Monday. We can anticipate some lawmakers will place their anti-gun extremist agenda above the interests of airline security, and they will try to gut this legislation with unacceptable amendments. Call your U.S. Representative at (202) 225-3121 and urge him to oppose any anti-gun amendments to H.R. 4635, and to vote for it when it is brought to the House floor for consideration.
In addition, S. 2554, the bill in the U.S. Senate which seeks to arm properly trained flight deck crew, has 12 cosponsors, and could use more. Please contact your U.S. Senators at (202) 224-3121 and urge them to cosponsor S. 2554. Those on the Internet can find additional contact information by using our "Write Your Representatives" tool.
http://www.nraila.org/LegislativeUpdate.asp?FormMode=Detail&ID=423
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Visit the Independence Day Portal Page
Each year on Independence Day, Americans honor and celebrate the courageous action that our Nation's Founders took on July 4, 1776 -- the signing of the Declaration of Independence. With that brave and profound decision, the Founders demonstrated their love for liberty and proved that they were willing to fight and die for freedom. As we honor our Founders' bold vision on this first observance of Independence Day since September 11, Americans possess a greater national unity and a deeper appreciation of the things that matter most in our lives -- our faith, our love for family and friends, and our freedom.
In this new era, Americans share a renewed appreciation for the ideals that make our country strong. Our fine service men and women are fighting and winning the war on terror. They deserve the gratitude of all people who cherish freedom.
Throughout our Nation's history, Americans have been steadfast in their efforts to build a country of liberty, peace, and opportunity for all. As we act to lift the dark cloud of terror from our Nation and the world, we reaffirm our determination to preserve our Forefathers' legacy of freedom. In doing so, we honor their legacy as we move forward into the 21st century.
On this Independence Day we pay special tribute to all those currently serving in the Armed Forces and to our veterans. Their contributions have been critical to the defense of our country, and our Nation is grateful.
Laura joins me in extending best wishes for a safe and memorable Independence Day. May God bless you, and may God continue to bless America.
GEORGE W. BUSH
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/06/20020628-13.html
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878