-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 More evidence if it were needed that certain parties in the US have lost the plot. If anyone cares to explain how this improves flight safety I'm all ears. Presumably this could only apply to internal flights in the US? David On Wednesday 02 Oct 2002 5:07 pm, you wrote: > Plan to arm pilots is taking off > By Alan Levin, USA TODAY > > WASHINGTON =97 Since the Senate voted overwhelmingly last month to arm up > to= =20 > 85,000 airline pilots, carriers and safety advocates have raised > numerous=20 concerns about cost, security and safety. But so far, no one > appears to be= =20 > listening. > Despite renewed criticism from airline executives and private worries from= > =20 > some government officials, the measure seems certain to become law. The=20 > politics of guns has overwhelmed the slower-moving aviation world,=20 > according to officials, lobbyists and Capitol Hill insiders. Vigorous=20 > lobbying by pilots and gun rights groups, who say concerns about the=20 > proposal have been overblown, eroded most objections from Congress.=20 > Proposals to make airline pilots eligible to carry guns passed the House > of= =20 > Representatives in July and the Senate in September. Groups such as the=20 > National Rifle Association urged lawmakers to vote for the measure, and > few= =20 > wanted to oppose it in an election year. Even some liberal lawmakers who=20 > generally favor gun control embraced the idea. But the House and Senate=20 > versions, which must be merged before being sent to the president, do > not=20 specify how pilots would be trained, how weapons would be > transported=20 between flights or how the measure would be paid for. > > Only a small fraction of the 5,000 to 10,000 airline pilots who fly each=20 > day are expected to volunteer to carry a gun. The Bush administration=20 > initially opposed arming pilots, but that position weakened under > intense=20 lobbying. Transportation Security Administration acting head > James Loy says= =20 > he will follow Congress' wishes, though he would prefer to begin with a=20 > small test program instead of allowing all pilots to participate. > Airlines,= =20 > which were slow to mobilize against the measure, are starting to speak > out.= =20 > Officials say the House and Senate proposals do not consider potential=20 > problems, from how pilots can safely carry weapons in secure airport=20 > terminals to what might happen if a stray shot damages aircraft=20 > electronics. "There's so many unknowns," says Dave Barger, president of=20 > JetBlue airline. "I don't think the legislation has really been thought=20 > out." Aviation safety advocates say giving pilots the added responsibility= > =20 > for security could threaten safety by disrupting them from their normal=20 > routines. "We've trained these pilots so carefully, and we've engrained in= > =20 > them that predictable routine makes it safe," says Susan Coughlin, a > former= =20 > member of the National Transportation Safety Board who is president of the= > =20 > Aviation Safety Alliance. "Let's let them do that and let law > enforcement=20 do the rest." > > Coughlin and other former NTSB members plan to issue a letter > criticizing=20 the proposal. Loy convened a task force, which included > officials from the= =20 > FBI, Secret Service and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, to=20 > study the proposal this past summer. It recommended against giving guns to= > =20 > pilots. "We have some very serious concerns" about the legislation, Loy=20 > said last week. "I want to make sure there is a walk-before-we-run=20 > mentality." Loy told senators this month that if pilots are armed, they=20 > should receive individual lockboxes in which to store the weapons while > not= =20 > in the cockpit. The lockboxes would minimize the chances of accidental=20 > discharge and theft. In a letter to senators, he identified other > issues:=20 Will cockpits need to be modified to create storage areas for > weapons? How= =20 > will the government respond if foreign nations want to arm their pilots?=20 > How will the program be funded? That last question could prove tricky > for=20 the TSA, which has said it cannot meet congressionally mandated > security=20 deadlines without additional funding. Estimates of the costs > vary. Loy=20 projected up to $900 million in initial costs followed by $250 > million per= =20 > year. The Air Line Pilots Association, the nation's largest pilots union=20 > and a proponent of arming flight crews, estimated it would cost no more=20 > than $100 million initially, and probably far less. Steve Luckey, a > retired= =20 > 747 captain who heads the union's security committee, concedes that many=20 > issues need to be resolved before pilots can be armed. But he says they > can= =20 > be easily overcome. "I strongly believe that if we have this ability, > the=20 odds of a recurrence of something like Sept. 11 is greatly > diminished," he= =20 > says. > > Luckey says he has developed the outlines for a training program and=20 > anticipates rigorous standards for pilots seeking guns. "I don't think you= > =20 > can have any kind of cavalier attitude about handing out lethal force to=20 > people," he says. "That's why I'm on the quality bandwagon, not quantity."= > =20 > The gun legislation is part of a larger bill that would create a > department= =20 > of homeland security. That bill is deadlocked in the Senate. The > airlines=20 hope Congress will adopt a test program before opening the > program to every= =20 > pilot. "It's dangerous and potentially deadly public policy to enact > this=20 proposal in an information vacuum," says Michael Wascom, spokesman > for the= =20 > airline trade group Air Transport Association. But there appear to be > few=20 allies for such a move on Capitol Hill. Proponents say it's time > the=20 airlines gave up. "This train has left the station," NRA Chief > Executive=20 Officer Wayne LaPierre says. "They need to get on board, as > opposed to=20 trying to figure out how to sabotage an issue that has > already been= decided." > > > > The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: > Roj (Roger James) > *************************************************** > escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca > Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com > CBC Website > http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ > The Trinbago Site of the Week: > (ReadyMix) http://www.readymix.co.tt/ > (ReadyMix Cement Ltd) > courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory > Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com > TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt > ********************************************************* -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.0.7 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQE9nMkMKsvwCXwmAPgRAjnSAJ9S351CHKrZn+8jLye0ME7szfMEqgCfWgRZ g/u4evzf9EioWaTOVv0oQ6M= =WU+S -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----