Armed Pilots = Safer Planes

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Armed Pilots = Safer Planes
by Robert Yoho, Associate Editor

May 10, 2002

"Eye on Conservatism"

Columnist Robert Yoho Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge (White House) I have no question that Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta and Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge (right) are good and decent men. However, they are clearly wrong in their opposition to arming the pilots of commercial airliners.

When Congress is blindly engaged in a mad rush of airline safety legislation, you would think they would choose to pass a bill that might actually accomplish their stated intention of providing safety and security to the flying public.

The concept of armed captains and pilots is not a new approach. It used to be commonplace. Therefore, it is an idea whose time has returned.

Anybody who chooses to travel on a commercial airline is already trusting his life to the pilot. Thousands of Americans travel on planes for business and pleasure every day. They willingly place their lives and security in the hands of a pilot. We seldom question his maturity, his years of training, or his level of skills and competence.

I wish somebody could please explain to me the difference between arming sky marshals and arming pilots.

If we can trust a pilot to safety take us from one coast to another, then why would we assume that the same man does not have the skill and judgment to capably handle a weapon in an emergency?

There are far too many Americans who get hysterical over the mere thought that a gun might be anywhere near them. Guns are not only used in the commission of crimes; they often prevent them! A gun is not an object with supernatural powers. If carried by a pilot, a firearm will not magically spring from the holster and shoot a bunch of innocent passengers.

Too much of what we "think" we know we learned from Hollywood movies. According to Ronald Hinderberger, director of aviation safety for Boeing, a stray bullet piercing a fuselage will NOT necessarily bring down an airliner. There could be some depressurization, but there are numerous cases where planes have landed with much more severe structural damage than a tiny bullet hole. And, yes, there is always some risk of an errant bullet causing a fire, an explosion, or harming the electrical or hydraulic systems. However, if the pilot is forced to remove that gun from his holster, then the plane and its passengers are already in serious and imminent danger.

I understand that the arming of pilots is sometimes opposed by the attendants. No doubt they fear a doomsday scenario where a planeload of dead passengers and flight attendants is landed by pistol-packing pilots. Although it may sound rather cold to some, there are certainly far worse things than a plane landing with a bunch of dead passengers. On September 11th, we learned what one of those things was.

The lessons of Black Tuesday must never be forgotten. These flights were chosen primarily because the hijackers assumed the passengers would be defenseless. Unfortunately, the terrorists were correct on three of the four flights. An untold number of lives were saved because Americans chose to bravely fight back against their hijackers. The passengers did so with the full knowledge of their eventual fate, if they chose to do nothing.

Well, now we all know. United Airlines Flight 93, that crashed into that once peaceful Pennsylvania countryside, was not successfully used as a weapon off mass destruction. But the possibility remains that other airlines could be. However, that possibility is lessened when terrorists realize that their actions would be met by armed, capable, and hostile resistance.

If we have the will to do that which we know must be done, then another hi-rise building could be left standing. Another historical, economic, or governmental landmark might be unharmed. And a bunch of happy passengers can routinely count on safely reaching their destination.

Guns in the cockpit are not a threat to the passengers. They could be their ultimate salvation. ***

Photo of Robert Yoho courtesy of staff files
Photo of the Tom Ridge courtesy of The White House