Pilots learn cockpit combat By Fred Bayles, USA TODAY GLYNCO, Ga. =97 Sweating and grunting, a roomful of airline pilots took= turns=20 playing good guys and bad guys. The good guys were trying out self-defense= =20 techniques to disarm the bad guys, who had invaded their cockpits with red= =20 rubber knives and fake guns. "You have to be really good bad guys to make=20 this work," their federal instructor barked in encouragement. With that,=20 the attackers came at the pilots from behind. The pilots rose from their=20 seats to confront them. "It's pretty intense," one airline captain remarked. "You really don't have= =20 much room to maneuver in a cockpit fight." The pilots taking classes this week at the Federal Law Enforcement Training= =20 Center here will be among the first to fly armed. Some will be flying with= =20 weapons as early as Sunday. The arming of pilots was allowed by Congress=20 last year to prevent flights from being taken over by terrorists, as=20 happened in the hijackings of Sept. 11, 2001. The 46 pilots taking classes= =20 here are the first of what may eventually be thousands of pilots deputized= =20 as federal law officers and authorized to use lethal force to defend their= =20 cockpits. After finishing 48 hours of training Saturday, they will head=20 back to their airlines armed with .40-caliber handguns. They'll keep them=20 in shoulder holsters while at the controls. The arming of pilots was=20 opposed by the Bush administration, airlines and aviation safety experts.=20 But pilots argued that it is a necessary layer of protection against=20 another attack. "There has to be something between that cockpit door and=20 that F-16 that's going to blow you out of the sky if the terrorists take=20 over," said Stephen Luckey, chairman of the national security committee of= =20 the Air Line Pilots Association, the nation's largest pilots union. The weeklong course shows how much things have changed since 9/11. Before=20 the attacks, the union had opposed arming pilots. It instead adhered to a=20 longtime policy of "accommodate, negotiate and do not escalate" with=20 hijackers. But under the new training, pilots receive lessons in=20 hand-to-hand fighting, firearms and the "psychology of survival" =97 how= keep=20 their heads in combative situations. There are also lengthy sessions on the= =20 firing range. They learn not only how to shoot, but also how to shoot=20 within the close quarters of a cockpit. Their guns hold special bullet=20 loads designed to do maximum damage to an attacker without passing through= =20 his body. "This has been excellent training," said one of three female captains=20 taking the training. "I fly commercial airliners all over the world, and=20 this will give me the tools to keep my passengers and airplane safe." The=20 pilots, who were not identified by name or airline, were volunteers=20 specially selected for the first training course. Under the federal rules,= =20 they must undergo a criminal background check, take a psychological test=20 and meet with a psychologist to be eligible. John Moran, the Transportation= =20 Security Administration (TSA) official who runs the program, said two=20 pilots in the class were dropped after failing to meet undisclosed=20 requirements. Not everyone is enthusiastic about the program. Earlier this year, 10=20 former members of the National Transportation Safety Board took out a=20 newspaper ad against allowing pilots to be armed. "It introduces an element= =20 of uncertainty that will be difficult to train for," said Susan Coughlin, a= =20 former NTSB co-chairwoman. Some pilots have their own reservations. They=20 say the TSA rules discourage pilots from volunteering. Although the first=20 class is having its transportation, room and board paid for, and any lost=20 salary made up, pilots attending subsequent classes will have to pay their= =20 own way. The TSA says training and equipment, including the $500 gun, cost= =20 $6,200 per pilot. Pilots are also angry about a regulation that requires their guns to be=20 kept in a lockbox when carried outside the cockpit. Pilots who are not on=20 duty =97 for example, those traveling from home to a flight assignment =97= must=20 put the lockbox and gun in the cargo hold of the plane. TSA spokesman=20 Robert Johnson said the restrictions follow guidelines set by Congress.=20 "The intent was to limit the pilot's jurisdiction to the cockpit," he said.= =20 "We wanted to guard against the temptation of using the gun in other=20 situations." Pilots in the first class said they were pleased with the=20 program. "You never know what may be on the other side of the cockpit=20 door," said one pilot, a veteran of 16 years of commercial flying. "If we=20 can defend against a threat, the benefits far outweigh the risks." TSA guidelines on guns The Transportation Security Administration has issued strict procedures on= =20 how pilots should handle their guns: Firearms must be holstered in the cockpit and kept in TSA-approved=20 lockboxes outside the cockpit. Pilots must carry the lockboxes inside nondescript bags when they are in=20 airports or boarding airplanes. Pilots should never let a bag that contains a gun out of their sight. When they travel as passengers, pilots must hand the bags that contain guns= =20 to the ground crew and watch them get loaded in cargo holds. Pilots will=20 reclaim the bags at plane-side after they land. At no time should pilots check firearms as conventional luggage. Source: Transportation Security Administration *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.carstt.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************