HEADLINE:
UNION: ARM PILOTS WITH GUNS RECOMMENDATION TO BE MADE TODAY TO
CONGRESS
BYLINE: JOHN CRAWLEY, REUTERS NEWS
SERVICE
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
BODY: The nation's largest commercial pilots union
yesterday said it would seek support from Congress to arm
pilots as a last line of defense against hijackers.
The Air Line Pilots Association, which represents pilots at nearly
every major carrier, said its president, Duane Woerth, would make the
recommendation at a congressional hearing today.
The
extraordinary proposal came as lawmakers and the Bush administration accelerated
efforts to draft plans for expanding airport and airline security in the wake of
the Sept. 11 hijackings that led to the attacks on the World Trade Center and
the Pentagon.
"This is a radical change for airline
pilots but it's an indication of the threat," union spokesman John Mazor said.
"This is a new type of hijacker. All they want to do is get control of the
cockpit and crash the plane."
Mazor said the union
envisioned a voluntary program run by federal law enforcement.
"We want to make it clear that it's not going to be pilots going home
and taking their gun out of the nightstand and carrying it to work," Mazor
said.
He said cockpit personnel who wanted to
participate would undergo extensive background checks, training and
psychological testing. Their weapons would be issued by the government.
Armed pilots would augment the expanding federal air
marshals program, in which armed plain-clothed agents travel on domestic
flights.
Federal Aviation Administration Administrator
Jane Garvey told a news conference in New York that all security options
remained on the table.
"More measures will continue to
be put in place to ensure the safety of passengers and flight crews," Garvey
said after taking a commercial flight from Dulles International Airport outside
Washington to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City to review
security operations there.
The agency has ordered new
security steps in recent days, including an end to curb-side check-in, and a ban
on knives and other cutting instruments.
The agency
also has renewed efforts to revalidate access to aircraft and sensitive areas of
the airport for airline, airport and contract workers.
The FAA also extended its flight ban on crop-dusting aircraft until
today due to concerns that they could be used in a chemical or biological
attack, Attorney General John Ashcroft told Congress yesterday.
Separately, Senate and House lawmakers continued to craft bipartisan
legislation to boost security after approving a $15 billion industry bailout
last week.
While a range of security proposals are
being considered, congressional aides and lawmakers have said the central thrust
of final legislation would be to restore public confidence in the safety of air
travel.
A plan proposed last week that has emerged as
the central security package in the Senate would, among other things:
* Make the federal government responsible for baggage and
passenger screening functions. Impose uniform standards and tight oversight.
* Strengthen cockpit doors and limit access to the flight
deck.
* Create a position within the FAA to oversee
security.
* Assess a $1 charge for each ticket to help
pay for security improvements beyond the $3 billion already approved by Congress
and earmarked by President Bush for airport and airline security.
One Senate aide said a $4-per-ticket charge might
proposed, but it was unclear if other key co-sponsors of the bill -- who include
Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Ernest Hollings, D-S.C. -- would support
that.
The House Transportation Committee spearheaded
efforts to craft security legislation in the House. Key members of that panel's
aviation subcommittee chaired by Florida Republican John Mica met last night to
consider various proposals.
Congressional leaders hoped
to have legislation either this week or next. One congressional aide said
lawmakers may want to wait on legislation until a government airline and airport
security task force that Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta appointed after
the hijackings makes its recommendations on Monday.
Separately, the U.S. Conference of Mayors will urge Mineta in a letter
this week to support making all baggage and passenger screeners federal
employees to ensure uniformity and accountability. Mineta said last week that
doing so could cost $1.8 billion and involve 28,000 people.
NOTES: THE WAR ON TERROR A NATION ON GUARD
GRAPHIC: PHOTO: Susan
Walsh/Associated Press: Federal Aviation Administration chief Jane Garvey
reviews paperwork aboard a United Express flight yesterday from Washington,
D.C., to New York, where she began an assessment of security at John F. Kennedy
International Airport. She said many security measures -- including bans on
early seat selection and carry-on baggage -- are being discussed in advance of
the final recommendations by a task force established in the wake of this
month's terrorist attacks.
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