U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
U.S. Rep. Don Young, Chairman

Contact:  Steve Hansen (Communications Director)  (202) 225-7749
 Email: Steve.Hansen@mail.house.gov
    Justin Harclerode (Communications Assistant)  (202) 226-8767
  Email: Justin.Harclerod@mail.house.gov

To:  National Desk/Transportation Reporter
May 2, 2002

Providing Pilots With Weapons To Defend The Cockpit From Terrorists Supported At Congressional Hearing

        Washington, DC – Representatives of the aviation industry and the Department of Justice testified before a Congressional subcommittee today on issues related to arming pilots in order to defend the cockpit from terrorist attacks.

        The Aviation Subcommittee, chaired by U.S. Rep. John Mica (R-FL), heard from four witnesses today – the Honorable Sarah Hart from DOJ’s National Institute of Justice (NIJ), Captain Stephen Luckey of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), Captain Hank Krakowski of United Airlines, and Ron Hinderberger of Boeing.  Witnesses discussed providing pilots with both lethal weapons – handguns – and less-than-lethal weapons, such as stun guns.

“Pilots Have Asked For The Ability To Defend Themselves, And Congress Should Meet That Request”

        “Arming trained and qualified flight crew members is a necessary step to ensure the safety and security of the flying public,” said Chairman Mica.  “Nothing else can provide the deterrence or effectiveness of a weapon wielded by a highly trained individual.”

        “Pilots know best that they can both control their aircraft and defend their cockpits when necessary.  They have asked for the ability to defend themselves, and Congress should meet that request,” Mica stated.

        Yesterday, Mica and Committee Chairman Don Young (R-Alaska) introduced H.R. 4635, the Arming Pilots Against Terrorism Act.  The bill establishes a program for volunteer pilots who undergo appropriate training and background checks to be provided with handguns for use in defending the cockpit.

        “The events of September 11th have dramatically changed how we must defend our planes and passengers,” said Young.  “I strongly believe that under today’s circumstances, we must allow trained and qualified pilots to serve as the last line of defense against potential terrorist attacks.”

The Use Of Stun Guns On Aircraft

        As directed by the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, NIJ recently concluded a study of the effectiveness of less-than-lethal weapons on airplanes and submitted its findings to the Department of Transportation.  NIJ recommended that the results not be made public to protect sensitive information about potential weaknesses of the weapons.

        Director Hart was able to discuss some of the study’s findings at the hearing, and stressed that more study was needed to more accurately assess the effectiveness of less-than-lethal weapons.

        “Most less-than-lethal weapons are designed for use in an open air setting or inside a house or other structure, so further testing of these weapons may prove their use inside an aircraft in flight to be impractical,” said Hart.

        “The maximum range of the dart-firing electrical shocking device [stun gun] is 15 to 21 feet.  The barbs can be discharged at very close range, but the recommended minimum distance is three feet, according to the manufacturer.  Effectiveness at shorter ranges is not known with any acceptable certainty.”

        “The most important unknown fact about the use of these weapons, however, is the effect such a weapon could have on aircraft avionics or other critical systems.”

        According to Captain Krakowski, United Airlines has successfully tested the use of TASER stun guns on airplane flight decks.  United is proposing to deploy two TASERs on each of its aircraft and is currently training its pilots in their use.

Arming Pilots With Handguns

        Captain Luckey, representing the nation’s largest pilot union, advocated arming pilots with handguns as a deterrent and a last line of defense against terrorists.

        “More than 3,000 people were murdered, billions of dollars of property damage was incurred, the nation’s economy was rocked and is still suffering, thousands of people were laid off, and billions of dollars of new spending will be allocated to security both in this country and around the globe for years to come – all because eight pilots were killed,” said Captain Luckey.  “It is obvious, or should be, that protecting the flight deck and its occupants against hijackers is now tantamount to protecting our national economy.”

        Captain Luckey outlined reasons for arming pilots as part of an overall aviation security plan.

        “While we strongly support the installation of a new, hardened flight deck door on U.S. aircraft as an additional layer of security, we should not fool ourselves into thinking that they are sufficient to protect the flight crew under all circumstances.”

        Other pilots’ groups have recently expressed support for arming pilots.  Prior to the hearing, the Airline Pilots’ Security Alliance presented Chairman Mica with a petition with over 40,000 signatures in support of arming pilots with handguns.

        At the hearing, Mr. Hinderberger addressed concerns over the potential effects handgun fire could have on an aircraft’s structure.

        “The risk of loss of the aircraft due to a stray round from a handgun is very slight,” said Hinderberger.  “Boeing commercial service history contains cases of gunfire onboard in-service airplanes, all of which landed safely.”

        “Commercial airplane structure is designed with sufficient strength, redundancy and damage tolerance that single or even multiple handgun bullet holes would not result in loss of the aircraft.  A single bullet hole in the fuselage skin would have little effect on cabin pressurization.”

        “On fourteen occasions Boeing commercial aircraft have survived and landed after an in-flight bomb blast.”

#  #  #