Guns in the Cockpit Essay -- Terrorism Airlines Security Safety Essays

Guns in the Cockpit On the morning of September 11, 2001, four airplanes were hijacked and two of them, brought the collapse of the World Trade Center towers in New York City. As a result of these attacks on the United States, airports have come to the realization that the only way to prevent another hijacking is by strengthening the security on aircrafts through the cockpit. In order to secure the cockpit and ensure the safety of the passengers on board, guns were introduced as a possible solution in the event of an emergency situation like those that took place in September of 2001. The Transportation Security Administration head John Magaw, announced the administrations position that they are against guns in cockpits and a pilot should give full, undivided attention to flying his plane. He believes that pilots can use their plane as their line of defense by landing it as quickly as possible and conducting in-flight maneuvers to keep the hijackers off balance (MSNBC 3). John Magaw believes that pilots have to make use with what they have. Captain Tracy Price, head of the Airline Pilots Security Alliance who supports equipping the cockpit with guns, stated, We advocate arming airline pilots with firearms to provide a last resort, final line of defense of passengers, crew and innocent civilians on the ground, in a press conference in Washington D.C. (Pilots 1). She believes that the pilots need more than just their own plane as a weapon against a hijacker, but a gun as well. But in truth, both of these opposing sides are working toward the same goal, to secure the cockpit and making the flying of an aircraft a safe experience for all of those on board. In the events that took place on September 11, the future terrorists... ...daily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=28406> House Oks guns in cockpits. July 2002. MSNBC News. 13 Nov. 2002 Senator calls for arming pilots. Jon Dougherty. Mar. 2002. World Net Daily. 13 Nov. 2002 House votes to allow guns in cockpit. July 2002. CNN. 13 Nov. 2002. Drawing a bead on guns in the cockpit. Elliott Hester. Sept. 2002. St. Petersburg Times. 13 Nov. 2002 Press Conference with Senator Robert Smith (R-NH); Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT); and Senator Barbra Boxer (D-CA). Press Conference or Speech- LEXIS NEXIS (search engine) 10 Wed. July 2002. Federal News Service. 10 Nov. 2002