Originally posted by Raubvogel:
I could see a tazer or stun gun, but a pistol in the hands of an amateur at 30,000ft scares me.
I would suggest that an airline pilot is hardley an amateur, with the hundreds of hours of flight time required to become one.
Amateur gun user, maybe, but I believe the allowance of guns would mean that the pilot would have to pass a gun safety and proficiency course before he was allowed to carry on the plane.
As for Tazers, these could hardley be considered an effective weapon for close quarter encounters.
1. For the most part, a tazer is a one shot deal. If you miss, the unit has to be reset before firing again.
2. For the most part, a tazer is a one shot deal. If there are more terrorists than tazers, you can't shoot them all.
3. In the close quarter environment of the airline cabin, with several obstructions that could be in the way, it is very possible to miss your shot with a tazer.
Why would anyone not want the pilot to have a gun? You are already putting your life in his hands, no sense in limiting his ability to preserve it if he has to.
I would feel much safer if I knew there was someone on the plane carrying a 9mm HI-CAP pistol with low-velocity rounds and was trained and certified on how to use it.
If you want to put it to a test, I would mush rather go up against a guy with a tazer over a guy armed with 16 rounds of 9mm in a semi-auto pistol.
