Do you think we should arm commercial pilots?

Answer 1

Yes, but we need to provide them with lots of training first. And don't make it an option to carry them, but a requirement.

Answer 2

Pilots should have the right to be armed with alot of training. But really unless a hijacker is killing people in the cabin one by one the pilots just need to get the plane on the ground and that's it. Now if the pilot had a gun and a hijacker was killing people in the back of the plane the armed pilot should try to leave the cockpit quickly and kill the hijacker. But if there is no gun the pilots are not going to open that cockpit door.
The best thing to do is just keep adding Federal Air Marshall's to flights, which they have been doing. As long as there is an Air Marshall on board than you don't need armed pilots.
But if i was a commercial pilot or if I become one some day I going to want to be armed.
If I am allowed to keep loaded guns in my home which I do and a loaded hand gun in my car(legal in the state of Florida), which I do than I think with the right training pilots should be able to be armed too.

Answer 3

Yes, and at present if the pilot wishes to do so - they can - with training.

Think about it. The bad guy is armed somehow - let's be prepared.

It's only in the movies that airplanes decompress when someone fires a gun. The pressurization out-flow valves which keep the cabin at the correct altitude are many times the size of bullet. Even if a bullet shot out a window, those same valves are still bigger on a commercial airliner. Heck, in my airplane there's two of them and they are 3.5" in diameter each - and my plane is a little o'le 6 seater. Those big valves would close a bit, and not much else would happen - though there would be a bit of a breeze going out the holes. One bad guy down, land the plane - get on with life for the rest of us.

Answer 4

Ha Ha... You have got to be out of your mind!!! Pilots fly airplanes, they are not security guards, police officers etc. Flying an aircraft is a very technical job that requires allot of concentration they can't be expected to fire at some crazy person on the flight deck and fly the plane at the same time. The answer is to give the security responsibilities to a trained air marshal and have them on every flight in the world, domestic and international. it will drive the cost of airfares up but if everyone wants to feel safe when they step onto an airplane then I'm sure the passengers will understand.

Answer 5

We do... if they want to be armed. There is a program out there to train Federal Flight Deck Officers (FFDOs), making them legally trained law enforcement officers whose jurisdiction is the flight deck of their airplane. They can carry a handgun, provided it is transported in a locked box, and they only unlock it and holster their weapon when the cockpit door is closed and locked.

The training emphasizes more than just "here's a gun, shoot the bad guys," becase firing a weapon on an airplane, and particularly in the cockpit, would not be a terribly preferrable thing to do. So, they learn some hand-to-hand combat techniques and such as well.

If it makes people feel safer, then it's a good program, but I personally don't think that it is going to significantly increase safety. It just seems to me like a bad idea to have weapons on the airplane, no matter which side of the door it's on.

Answer 6

Absolutely not. Find better ways of securing the cockpit instead of arming some pilot who probably can't shoot worth a damn in the first place, with a weapon that could a) kill a passenger, b) take out critical systems if misfired, c) depressurize the aircraft...

It's a scary idea.

Answer 7

Absolutely. With proper training, it can be a wonderful deterrent to hijacking.
Having been a law enforcement officer for a long time, I have no problem with any properly trained individual arming themselves as a deterrent to crime. I personally would feel safer on board a commercial flight knowing the flight deck is armed.

Answer 8

No!, that will let the hijackers know where to get a weapon. The best solution is what we have now which is no access to the cockpit, the door remains locked and is almost impossible to break down during flight. That's the same reason prison guards don't carry weapons, the prisoners will attack the guards and armed themselves.

Answer 9

Yes. All pilots should be armed. As a matter of fact, all law abiding non-wacko citizens should be armed. I have 2 loaded guns in my house and 3 kids. I don't need the speach, my kids are being raised like I was, to respect guns. Guns do not kill, people do. PS, my guns are loaded because an unloaded gun is called a club.

Answer 10

No, what a silly idea. For all the reasons mentioned above. People think they are so safe with guns but many gun owners are shot by their own weapons.

Really, if you want the USA to be safer, write your congressman to have cars and junkfood banned.

By allowing yourselves to be afraid of terrorists you are giving them the weapons they need at the expense of the freedom you cherish and claim to protect.

Answer 11

I think it should be optional. I do, however, think it is absolutely rediculous that concealed weapon permit holders are not allowed to take their firearms on to planes. With no weapons allowed at all, planes are just asking to get hijacked. If people have their concealed weapons permit, therefore the correct training, there is no excuse for not letting them on the plane with their firearm.