2007-11-13 05:22:14 · 6 answers · asked by t.cerpin 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Politics
They weren't sealed then (in the USA)
The Israeli airlines (El Al), has been sealing off cockpits and racial profiling for decades. They often have solders holding machine guns at the ready. It works for them.
2007-11-13 05:31:43 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
David is correct.
Prior to 9/11 Arab hijackers simply took the plane somewhere. They would park it on a runway infront of TV cameras and play out a drama for days or weeks. (Look at the Entebbe Hijacking in 1976 for example). They would threaten to kill the passengers, demand fuel and food, and generally negotiate until either some or all of their demands were met and they let everybody go, (which is what normally happened if they landed in a Moslem country) or commandos stormed the plane and killed them (which is what normally happened if they landed in a European country). It was actually very rare for someone to be killed in a hijacking... it sometimes happened (they killed a US Navy diver that was a passenger in Beriut, and when they hijacked the Achille Lauro Cruise ship they shot an unarmed crippled Jewish Man) but the percentage of people killed was very low.
As such it was deemed to be safer for the pilots, crew, and passengers for everyone to cooperate with the hijackers. The thinking was that it was better to be stuck on a runway in Lybia for six weeks while these bozos got on camera to curse Israel and demand stuff than to have some nutjob blow a hole in the plane at 35,000 ft. and have everybody die.
So when the hijackers said "Open the cockpit door or we will kill the stewardess", on 9-11 the pilots did what they were trained to do and opened the cockpit door.
Don't worry, I don't think that wil EVER happen again.
2007-11-13 13:59:49 · answer #2 · answered by Larry R 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Bingo.
David & tensor said it all.
El Al knew what terrorists were capable of a long time ago.
& have often thought their precautions could have prevented the 9/11 murders.
Sure cost had something to do with not providing secure cockpits.
2007-11-13 17:30:48 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Before 9/11 the standard procedure was to comply with the demands of the hijackers. If a hijacker held a passenger or steward at knife point and demanded to be let in the cockpit they would let him in. This was because previous hijackers wanted to go somewhere and were not out specifically to kill people. By complying with the demands the hijacker was less likely to kill people.
2007-11-13 13:29:59 · answer #4 · answered by davidmi711 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Cockpits were not sealed off in those days.
2007-11-13 13:25:35 · answer #5 · answered by baddius 3 · 4⤊ 0⤋
why would they do that? it was not required!!!
2007-11-13 13:25:59 · answer #6 · answered by nothing 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋