Author Topic: Airline Pilots To Be Armed (Read 1208 times)

beet1e · « **Reply #60 on:** December 03, 2002, 06:22:05 PM »

Mr. Toad: What, Tomato is biased for not being American?

Toad · « **Reply #61 on:** December 03, 2002, 09:27:40 PM »

Nope. Didn't say or imply that. Just said given that she is not American, the situation is more stereotypical than I had at first thought.

Airhead · « **Reply #62 on:** December 03, 2002, 09:59:28 PM »

Toad, if they let you carry a gun while you fly and Beat1e gets on your plane do us all a favor and shoot him OK?

Toad · « **Reply #63 on:** December 03, 2002, 10:38:05 PM »

Only if, when and after he manages an unauthorized entry into the cockpit.

But even he's not that.... well, you know.

I suspect Beetle is an OK guy in person. I do believe he doesn't know a dang thing about guns and their sporting uses, nor do I think he's ever spent much time hanging out with folks that don't live in cities or suburbs of big cities here in the US.

In short, he's probably like a lot of the mistaken American folks over at Handgun Control.

Afterall, some folks think chickens are born in a refrigerator without skin on a styrofoam plate covered in shrinkwarp plastic, too.

Ya can't just condemn 'em for being unaware.

beet1e · « **Reply #64 on:** December 04, 2002, 01:23:39 AM »

Mr. Toad...

Awwww, you say the nicest things!!!

You're right, and I don't know anything about guns except what I've picked up here. Never fired one.

I like your comment about the chickens. I did run into an American (former neighbour) who spoke of a boneless chicken farm in CA as if that were a breed of chicken!

H. Godwineson · « **Reply #65 on:** December 04, 2002, 09:44:44 AM »

Thrawn,

Why do you not trust airline pilots to handle sidearms in a responsible manner? Most of them are ex-military, trained to handle stress situations and with fairly extensive experience in handling weapons.

The use of professional peace officers as airline security would not be adequate to counter the threat of a terrorist team. The terrorists responsible for the acts of 9/11 had gone through extensive training, part of which, undoubtedly, had to do with spotting undercover security officers. If future terrorists are able to "make" these officers and overcome them, what is to prevent them from repeating those acts? The newly "reinforced doors?" Those can be blown or cut through.

The last line of defense for the passengers and crew, through sheer elimination, has to be the cockpit crew.

Had the pilots been armed with something as innocuous as a .22 pistol, the tragic events of 9/11 could have been avoided.

Oh...and decompression would not be a problem, even with a large caliber pistol.

Regards, Shuckins