Pilots threaten to stop

Bubba Joel

Pilots threaten to stop service if kept unarmed By KATHRYN MARCHOCKI Union Leader Staff Commercial airline pilots will be asked to suspend air service if they cannot have trained, armed pilots in the cockpits, a New Hampshire pilot said. A resolution that will be circulated among the various councils of the 67,000-member Air Line Pilots Association this month asks federal regulations be changed to allow for the voluntary arming of flight crew members, Robert Giuda, a United Airlines captain of Warren said. "Had we had armed pilots on Sept. 11, we wouldn't have the horrific tragedy that we're dealing with at this point," Giuda said of the four hijacked jetliners. Pilots would first get training in firearms by the FBI and would use their weapons only to defend against an attempted breach of the cockpit, the resolution said. The resolution also calls for federal licensing of pilots to carry concealed weapons and for the government to indemnify air carriers and their employees against the legitimate use of a firearm. If those steps are not carried out, the resolution calls for "a national suspension of air service, at such times and in such manner as is deemed appropriate by the leadership of the Air Line Pilots Association." "We're hearing members of Congress say they don't want a bunch of armed hooligans running around," said Giuda, a New Hampshire state representative. He said there was "no more professionalized, highly-scrutinized group of people in the world than airline pilots." The security of the flight deck cannot depend solely on armed sky marshals, he said. Sky marshals can be picked out of a crowd and, if overpowered, would provide a hijacker with a weapon, Giuda said. "It's time to throw the gauntlet to the mat. We are going to get politicized into unarmed cockpits and then we'll get shot with the guns the marshals used because they will be taken away from them," he added. Arming pilots introduces the element of "risk, fear and doubt" into the mind of a potential hijacker, he said.

badboybob

Arm the pilots, allow ccl holders to carry, allow LEO's to carry. SHOOT THE DAMN *!

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So many guns to buy. So little money.

mudge

Damn....sounds exactly like something I posted yesterday. I still can't vote for ANY firearm in the passenger cabin. If they're in the cabin the bad guys can get them and you've got OK Corral at 35,000 ft. Just nail the goblins if they try to enter the cockpit.Mudge

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Anyone who CAN carry, SHOULD carry!Let me update that.Anyone who CAN carry, BETTER carry.

badboybob

Mudge do you think I'm just going to give my gun to some * terrorist? He can have it - bullets first. And his * buddies will be next.

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So many guns to buy. So little money.

Patrick Odle

If I can trust a pilot to safely transfer me from one place to another I can dam well trust that same man with a firearm in the cockpit to give assurance that he alone is aircraft commander and will do whatever necessary toget me to my destination in one piece.

idsman75

Here's the problem with any ccw permit holder carrying in the passenger cabin. One terrorist may expose himself and allow everyone know that he is going to try to hijack the plane. You don't know it, but his buddy may be sitting next to you pretending to cower in fear. As soon as you draw, that buddy is grappling for your gun. That plane isn't going anywhere it isn't supposed to go if the pilot is protecting the steering wheel with a gun. Give that pilot a gun, train him with it at Front Sight and do the same for the co-pilot. I place my life in his hands every time I fly anyways.

competentone

This is like closing the barn door after the horses are out!Truck drivers should all go on strike until they are allowed to travel armed (they're likely to be the next targets for hijacking).The same with bus drivers, including school bus drivers. The airlines are "hard" targets now, the terrorists will be striking "soft" currently unprotected targets next.They stategically out-thought us on this first attack, let's not let them out-smart us a second time. Everybody, everwhere needs to be ready!