The reason why is because the government, in it's normal inability to do anything right, has given so many stupid regulations regarding the carriage of guns by pilots. Does it make sense to carry a protection device in a lock box? No! It should be handy, not locked away. I can see it now. "Mr. Hijacker, please wait a moment while I unlock my weapon." The TSA also wants gun-carrying pilots to be interviewed by psychologists. This is absurd! Let me get this straight. It's okay for a pilot to be responsible for hundreds of people and the safety yet he can't be trusted with a tool to help prevent those same passengers from being in the grips of a terrorist? Like many government agencies, the TSA is led by totally incompetent people. Want to know the difference between TSA and the Boy Scouts? The Boy Scouts have adult leadership. David R http://home.attbi.com/~damiross/airlines.html ----- Original Message ----- From: <lafrance@verizon.net> To: <AIRLINE@LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU> Sent: Wednesday, February 26, 2003 3:19 PM Subject: [AIRLINE] .....and for all these reasons, they should not carry guns > ...and for all these reasons, pilots should not carry guns. It puts the whole airport at risk. > > > > > > > > ALPA Critical of TSA Rule for Pilots Carrying Firearms > > > WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- The head of the nation's largest pilot > union has told the Transportation Security Administration that the new rule > governing how armed pilots would carry their firearms creates more problems > than it solves. snip---snip--- > The TSA rule also apparently violates a specific provision in the law that > created the FFDO program, requiring training "to ensure that the officer > maintains exclusive control over the officer's firearm at all times ... " > The TSA rule would require an FFDO pilot who is flying as a passenger > (deadheading or commuting) to have the weapon stowed in the cargo hold -- > where it would not be under the officer's control. > TSA has indicated that it will review the program after the initial class > of 48 pilot applicants has been trained and deployed and make any necessary > improvements. We are hopeful that by that point the TSA will realize that the > lock-box option is seriously flawed. Failing that, because of the many > concerns over this procedure, ALPA will pursue all options, up to and > including legal and/or legislative action, to correct this problem. > >