Copyright 2002 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution  

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
August 11, 2002 Sunday Home Edition
SECTION: News; Pg. 2B

LENGTH: 798 words

HEADLINE: Stun guns tried in United cockpits;
Pilots union favors lethal weapons

BYLINE: EUNICE MOSCOSO

SOURCE: Cox Washington Bureau

BODY:
Washington --- While lawmakers, pilots and the National Rifle Association continue their campaign to arm pilots with guns, United Airlines has placed its faith in a different weapon --- the Advanced Taser M26.

"Following Sept. 11, we considered everything from firearms to chemical sprays to collapsible batons . . . and we found that the taser ultimately represented the best overall weapon solution," said Chris Brathwaite, spokesman for the airline.

United has spent $1 million on 1,300 of the nonlethal weapons, which shoot darts that incapacitate people. The airline has also trained its force of 9,000 pilots to use the guns, which it plans to put in every cockpit, pending government approval.

With a bill to arm pilots gaining momentum in Congress, opponents cite nonlethal weapons --- such as the taser --- as a safer option.

"Firearms can have unintended consequences," said Brathwaite. "We're not saying that lethal weapons are wrong. We just think the taser is a better alternative."

But airline pilots disagree, saying that terrorists will not be deterred by anything less than a firearm and that tasers and stun guns have many drawbacks.

"If you're being confronted with lethal force, the only effective response is lethal force," said John Mazor, spokesman for the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents 67,000 pilots. "These [terrorists] are almost certainly trained killers and they're not coming in there to shake hands politely and ask you to step aside so they can take over the airplane."

Tasers plus guns

The union, which had been opposed to firearms in the cockpit before Sept. 11, doesn't oppose tasers or stun guns as an addition to lethal force on an airplane. For example, they would support nonlethal weapons for flight attendants in the cabin, Mazor said.

But he also says tasers --- which send an electrical current through the body --- can be defeated by heavy clothing. "Just too many things could go wrong," he said.

Another pilots union, the Allied Pilots Association, has put together a video, available on their Web site --- www.alliedpilots.org --- demonstrating the ineffectiveness of tasers, stun guns and other nonlethal weapons.

In addition, some lawmakers, including Rep. Don Young, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, also oppose the nonlethal alternatives, saying that some tasers have failure rates from 15 percent to 30 percent and that they have limited range and would be difficult to reload in a combat situation.

They also reject other options like pepper spray or stun batons --- a longer electrically charged weapon --- because they require close contact with the assailant, which could lead to danger.

In the aviation security law passed last fall, Congress mandated that the Department of Justice conduct a study on the use of nonlethal weapons in the cockpit. While the results were not publicly released because of concerns about tipping off terrorists, a Justice Department official told the House Transportation Committee in May that initial research had been inconclusive.

'No magic bullet'

Tom Smith, co-founder of Arizona-based Taser International Inc., said his company's weapons are effective 95 percent of the time and that more than 1,500 law enforcement agencies across the country are using them successfully.

"We don't pitch this as the magic bullet. There's nothing out there that's 100 percent. This is a fantastic tool," he said.

The taser, a term derived from the acronym "Thomas A. Swift Electrical Rifle," was developed in the 1970s by Jack Cover, a fan of Tom Swift children's books.

Smith said the tasers are completely different from stun guns, which also incapacitate with an electrical charge.

Tasers, which have become a popular nonlethal weapon in law enforcement, can shoot darts up to 21 feet away. When the darts attach to clothing or skin, they paralyze the person with electrical current that overrides the central nervous system.

Congress gave permission for guns and nonlethal weapons last fall in a new aviation security law. But the measure states that any decision must be approved by the Department of Transportation, which is re-examining the issue of lethal force in the cockpit.

Meanwhile, the House voted overwhelmingly last month to allow airline pilots to carry guns and a similar measure is gaining momentum in the Senate.

Smith said security should not be a choice between lethal and nonlethal weapons.

"We don't view it as an either-or situation," he said. "We kind of view it as a tool in the toolbox approach."
 
* ON THE WEB: Taser International, Inc.: www.taser.com

United Airlines: www.united.com

Air Line Pilots Association: www.alpa.org

Allied Pilots Association: www.alliedpilots.org

LOAD-DATE: August 11, 2002