<p>I’d rather have a situation where a potential hijacker thinks he might be facing a loaded gun on the other side of the cockpit door, rather than just a handshake…</p>
<p>Actually, UCBChemEGrad - hardened cockpit doors do a pretty good job - and have the added bonus than they don’t accidentally “discharge.” Think about it: what would rather have on your flight - the pilot sitting in his seat behind a hardened cockpit door, flying the plane to the nearest airport, or engaging in a shootout at 30,000 feet? I guess that would be an added incentive not to fly first class, though. “Collateral damage” and all…</p>
<p>“Seats should not recline period. Except maybe in First Class where there still is a little room.”</p>
<p>I’m not convinced there should be seats. ;)</p>
<p>Haha…sure, but pilots are paid to be responsible for passengers and crew.</p>
<p>If pilots are comfortable with the firearm, more power to 'em. It doesn’t have to be an either or proposition…we can have both.</p>
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And then sit on the hot tarmac for weeks…ala TWA Flight 847.</p>
<p>Well, UCB - apparently the USAir pilot felt “comfortable” with his firearm. With a little more “power” he might have been “responsible for his passengers” right into the ground. :)</p>
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<p>+1 - a better term is definitely “negligent discharge”</p>
<p>I think the old cowboy days got it more right - the phrase “riding shotgun” comes from the fact that the reins were in the hands of the driver who needed to pay attention to the road and to the horses, so the guy next to him carried the gun and watched for outlaws. </p>
<p>We have the same concept, with air marshalls. This is a heck of a lot safer than having the pilot think he/she has to become Destry in a pinch.</p>
<p>The next time I board a US Air flight, I’ll be listening to see if the piped in music while boarding is the whistling dude from “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.”</p>
<p>Well, this was a big “oops”. Glad no one was hurt.</p>
<p>I’m sure a training session awaits the bus driver. The pesky thing about firearms is that they do tend to discharge when the trigger is pulled.</p>
<p>astrophysicsmom - or how about the theme from the TV show Ponderosa? That’ll be playing in my head all day!</p>
<p>Today’s Charlotte Observer had some more details…Apparently, the TSA rules/regulations/etc. call for the dude who has the gun to take it off and on multiple times during a flight, moving from his waist to being stowed in his bag (I assume for when he leaves the cockpit and during take-offs, landings???). Also, the gun is to be put in a special holster that is being investigated that has some kind of trigger protection device to keep the trigger from being pulled. But, the story says that if the gun doesn’t go into the holster properly, the protection device can potentially push AGAINST the trigger, causing it to discharge in error. One guy is quoted as saying that the holster is intended for longer term storing, not for frequent removal and replacing the gun. There’s still a lot of info that hasn’t been made public (article sites several areas in the report that was released to have been “blackened out”), but the pilot (a former AF pilot) is on leave without pay. The bullet hole has been repaired and the plane is back in service.</p>