BODY: WASHINGTON -- Since
the Senate voted overwhelmingly last month to arm up to 85,000 airline
pilots, carriers and safety advocates have raised numerous concerns about
cost, security and safety.
So far, no one
appears to be listening.
Despite renewed
criticism from airline executives and private worries from some government
officials, the measure seems certain to become law. The politics of guns has
overwhelmed the slower-moving aviation world, according to officials, lobbyists
and Capitol Hill insiders.
Vigorous
lobbying by pilots and gun rights groups, who say concerns about the proposal
have been overblown, eroded most objections from Congress. Proposals to make
airline pilots eligible to carry guns passed the House of Representatives in
July and the Senate in September. Groups such as the National Rifle Association
urged lawmakers to vote for the measure, and few wanted to oppose it in an
election year. Even some liberal lawmakers who generally favor gun control
embraced the idea.
But the House and
Senate versions, which must be merged before being sent to the president, do not
specify how pilots would be trained, how weapons would be transported between
flights or how the measure would be paid for.
A fraction of the 5,000 to 10,000 airline pilots who fly each day are
expected to volunteer to carry a gun.
The
Bush administration initially opposed arming pilots, but that position weakened
under intense lobbying. James Loy, the acting head of the Transportation
Security Administration, says he will follow Congress' wishes, though he would
prefer to begin with a small test program instead of allowing all pilots to
participate.
Airlines, which were slow to
mobilize against the measure, are starting to speak out. Officials say the House
and Senate proposals do not consider potential problems, from how pilots can
safely carry weapons in secure airport terminals to what might happen if a stray
shot damages aircraft electronics.
"There's so many unknowns," says Dave Barger, president of JetBlue
airline. "I don't think the legislation has really been thought out."
Aviation safety advocates say giving pilots
the added responsibility for security could threaten safety by disrupting them
from their normal routines.
"We've trained
these pilots so carefully, and we've ingrained in them that predictable routine
makes it safe," says Susan Coughlin, a former member of the National
Transportation Safety Board who is president of the Aviation Safety Alliance.
"Let's let them do that and let law enforcement do the rest."
Coughlin and other former NTSB members plan to issue a
letter criticizing the proposal.
Loy
convened a task force, which included officials from the FBI, Secret Service and
the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, to study the proposal this past
summer. It recommended against giving guns to pilots.
"We have some very serious concerns" about the
legislation, Loy said last week. "I want to make sure there is a
walk-before-we-run mentality."
Loy told
senators this month that if pilots are armed, they should receive individual
lockboxes in which to store the weapons while not in the cockpit. The lockboxes
would minimize the chances of accidental discharge and theft.
In a letter to senators, he identified other issues: Will
cockpits need to be modified to create storage areas for weapons? How will
pilots carry weapons overseas? How will the government respond if foreign
nations want to arm their pilots? How will the program be funded?
That last question could prove tricky for the
TSA, which has said it cannot meet congressionally mandated security deadlines
without additional funding. Estimates of the costs vary. Loy projected up to $
900 million in initial costs followed by $ 250 million per year. The Air Line
Pilots Association, the nation's largest pilots union and a proponent of arming
flight crews, estimated it would cost no more than $ 100 million initially, and
probably far less.
Steve Luckey, a retired
747 captain who heads the union's security committee, concedes that many issues
need to be resolved before pilots can be armed. But he says they can be easily
overcome. "I strongly believe that if we have this ability, the odds of a
recurrence of something like Sept. 11 is greatly diminished," he says.
Luckey says he has developed the outlines for
a training program and anticipates rigorous standards for pilots seeking guns.
"I don't think you can have any kind of cavalier attitude about handing out
lethal force to people," he says. "That's why I'm on the quality bandwagon, not
quantity."
The gun legislation is part of
a larger bill that would create a department of homeland security. That bill is
deadlocked in the Senate. The airlines hope Congress will adopt a test program
before opening it to every pilot.
"It's
dangerous and potentially deadly public policy to enact this proposal in an
information vacuum," says Michael Wascom, spokesman for the airline trade group
Air Transport Association.
But there
appear to be few allies for such a move on Capitol Hill. Proponents say it's
time the airlines gave up.
"This train has
left the station," NRA Chief Executive Officer Wayne LaPierre says. "They need
to get on board, as opposed to trying to figure out how to sabotage an issue
that has already been decided."
TEXT OF
INFO BOX BEGINS HERE
Pilots unions' responses to
remaining questions
Federal officials, airlines and
safety advocates say many issues need to be resolved before pilots should be
armed. Pilots' unions say the issues are easily fixed.
International flights
Before
pilots can carry weapons on flights into other countries, the U.S. government
must sign agreements with each nation. The government also worries how it would
respond if other nations began arming their pilots.
* Pilots' response: Federal air marshals and FBI agents carry weapons
on overseas assignments. Similar deals could be worked out for pilots, who would
become deputized law officers under current proposals.
Cockpit modifications
Can pilots carry a gun in a holster or should guns be stored during
flight? Would different storage equipment be required for different aircraft
models?
* Pilots' response: Products have
been identified that could be used to hold weapons in cockpits. Major
modifications would not be needed.
Airport
security
Thousands of pilots a day would be entitled to
bring guns into airports. Some consultants worry about increased risks that guns
would be stolen and used by hijackers. It also might require altering security
checkpoints.
* Pilots' response: Many law
enforcement officers carry weapons in airports, and adding pilots to the group
would create no risks. Pilots advocate using lockboxes to store the weapons. The
Transportation Security Administration backs the lockbox concept.
Training
Federal
officials say they shouldn't be rushed to create a training program. Training
needs to consider safety, interaction with other security forces and the issues
of firing a weapon in a cockpit.
* Pilots'
response: The Air Line Pilots Association has proposed a 48-hour training
program based on work conducted with pilots in the 1970s.
The association suggests holding an initial test session
to fine-tune the curriculum. Training could begin within months.
Eligibility
Neither the House nor
the Senate version of the bill spells out whether pilots who want to carry
weapons should be subject to more than employment and criminal background
checks.
* Pilots' response: The Air Line
Pilots Association wants broader checks that would exclude pilots with histories
of domestic violence or credit problems.
***
Sources: Transportation
Security Administration, airlines, Air Line Pilots Association, USA TODAY
research
GRAPHIC: PHOTO, B/W, Steve
E. Barrett for USA TODAY; PHOTO, B/W; PHOTO, Color, J.P. Sauer & Son (page
1A); Luckey: Union security official says letting pilots carry guns would reduce
the odds of another incident like Sept. 11. <>Coughlin: Fears pilot
distraction.<>P229 pistol
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