Federal Flight Deck Officer Overview
Flight crew members are authorized to use firearms to defend
against a terrorist attempt to wrest control of the aircraft.
A flight crew member may be a pilot, flight engineer or
navigator assigned to the flight. If both pilots are armed,
the captain decides who will defend the aircraft and who will fly
the aircraft.
Under Title XIV of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, Congress
required the TSA to establish procedural requirements for an armed
flight deck officer program by Feb. 25, 2003, and to “begin
the process of training and deputizing pilots” after that
date. In December 2003, the President signed into law new
legislation that expanded program eligibility to cargo pilots and
certain other flight crewmembers.
Flight crew members are trained on the use of firearms, the use
of force, legal issues, defensive tactics, the psychology of
survival and standard operating procedures.
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