Copyright 2002 The San Diego Union-Tribune The San
Diego Union-Tribune
November 18, 2002, Monday
SECTION: NEWS;Pg. A-8
LENGTH:
576 words
HEADLINE: Congress expected to pass
bill that would arm pilots
BYLINE: Dave Montgomery; KNIGHT RIDDER NEWS SERVICE
BODY: WASHINGTON -- After more than a
year of debate amid fierce opposition from the airline industry, Congress is
poised to give thousands of commercial pilots the right to carry guns in the
cockpit.
A bill expected to clear Congress this week
will enable airline pilots to voluntarily carry pistols on the flight deck after
undergoing a training course tailored by the FBI. More than half of the nation's
80,000 to 100,000 passenger airline pilots may eventually participate.
The 484-page bill, which creates the Homeland Security
Department, could pass the Senate today and advance to the White House for
President Bush's signature. The provision arming pilots would be phased in over
three months.
Passage of the measure gives a hard-won
victory to organized pilots, who clamored for the legislation after the
terrorist hijackings Sept. 11, 2001. Participating pilots will be deputized as
unsalaried federal officers with perhaps the smallest jurisdiction on the planet
-- the narrow confines of their cockpits.
The armed
pilots, who will be called federal flight deck officers, will be authorized to
defend the cockpit "against acts of criminal violence or air piracy."
They will be prohibited from taking the guns outside the
cabin, even to face terrorists threatening to kill hostage passengers.
The thrust of the bill is to enable pilots to remain in
control of the cockpit and land their planes as quickly as possible if hijackers
take control of the passenger section. The government has ordered that all
cockpits be fitted with bulletproof doors by 2003.
"It's not strapping a weapon to your thigh and boarding a plane," said
Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., the House aviation subcommittee chairman. "It's going to
be very closely monitored."
Although full details must
be worked out by a federal regulatory agency, preliminary proposals envision
pilots wearing tear-away chest pouches that would hold FBI-approved pistols.
Two likely weapons of choice are the Glock and SIG Sauer
.40-caliber semi-automatic pistols, which usually carry 10 shots but can be
fitted with a high-capacity magazine of up to 15 rounds. The pistols, widely
used by federal officers and local police, normally sell for about $500 to $600
through firearms dealers.
To doubters, the idea of
pilots packing heat conjures up unsettling images of a flying Barney Fife,
television's bumbling deputy, or a midair catastrophe caused by a stray
bullet.
"There is not a pilot here at American Airlines
that has a personal agenda to carry a gun and act like Wild Bill Hickok," said
Capt. Steve Blankenship, communications chairman for the Allied Pilots
Association, which represents the 13,500 pilots at Fort Worth, Texas-based
American Airlines.
Instead, he said, the bill is
intended to prevent another terrorist attack by enabling pilots to shoot or
arrest hijackers who storm the cockpit with the intent of smashing the plane
into a building or government structure.
"It's going to
add more responsibility on us and more accountability on us," Blankenship said,
"but we are willing to embrace that responsibility because it's in the best
interest of the flying public."
The Air Transport
Association, which represents American and more than 20 other airlines that
fought the provision from its inception, softened its opposition in recent weeks
after lawmakers exempted the industry from liability for mishaps or from paying
the cost of firearms training.
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