>From an AvWeb article... Just in case terrorists manage to get aboard an airliner, new equipment will ensure that the crew can hit a button to at least let ground controllers know about it. None of the pilots aboard the four aircraft hijacked on Sept. 11, 2001, squawked the 7500 transponder code to announce the hijacking. On three of the jets, the transponders were shut off. The FAA is now requiring that hijack alert buttons, which can be instantly activated and, once switched on, can't easily be switched off, be installed on airliners. The projected fleet-wide cost ranges toward $80 million. The panic buttons will be mandatory on all passenger and cargo planes with 10 seats or more. And, of course, there's the wrangle about who will pay to outfit the domestic fleet of 7,000 affected aircraft. The FAA says the cost of another terrorist attack "cannot be reasonably measured in dollars" but then, of course, nobody at the FAA will likely be personally out of pocket for the expense ... unless through another security surcharge when purchasing an airline ticket. BAHA ACUNER - CFI,CFII,MEI www.bahadiracuner.com www.acuwings.com