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Should airline pilots be allowed to have a loaded pistol on the plane?

Should pilots be allowed to keep a pistol on the plane?

  • Yes, I think this is a great idea.

    Votes: 39 73.6%

  • No, I disagree to this idea.

    Votes: 8 15.1%

  • Undecided. I think it should be open to more debate.

    Votes: 6 11.3%
  • Total voters
    53
B L Zeebub said:
thats why my electric chair idear would work, the pilot would just have to put on the fasten seat belt sign then flick a switch:lol:
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I am not sure the batteries in the plane would be able to handle the juice, and I think pumping Carbon Monoxide through the oxygen masks would be more humane. Fake a cabin decompression event, pop down the masks and tell everyone to strap em on and breathe deeply, and they all peacefully go off to sleep.
 
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marduc said:
I am not sure the batteries in the plane would be able to handle the juice, and I think pumping Carbon Monoxide through the oxygen masks would be more humane. Fake a cabin decompression event, pop down the masks and tell everyone to strap em on and breathe deeply, and they all peacefully go off to sleep.
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I agree if we were talking about non us passengers.

I think the spectacle of a terrorist frying would go down a storm on Faux News, and the increase in ticket sales to the right wing neo-con christian fascists would improve the economy:)
 
B L Zeebub said:
I agree if we were talking about non us passengers.

I think the spectacle of a terrorist frying would go down a storm on Faux News, and the increase in ticket sales to the right wing neo-con christian fascists would improve the economy:)
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That's Christofascists ;)
 
CrusaderRabbit08 said:
The program already exists and armed pilots are currently flying passenger planes.
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Yeah, but I wonder what percentage of pilots actually choose to participate in the program. It looks like it's completely volunteer, and requires the pilot to pay for the courses himself, as well as completing it on his personal time.
 
I don't think it is a good idea to keep a firearm on an airplane, at least not with normal ammunition, because of the decompression risk. No matter how well trained you are, sometimes people miss. I wouldn't mind if they carried a tranquilliser gun, a taser, or perhaps used something like the ceramic rounds Vader mentioned. But I took the question to mean a normal weapon with normal ammunition, so I said no.
 
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NO, GOD NO NO NO NO!!! I have met some airline pilots who were the biggest douches ever. Give them a gun and an even bigger worth of themself you will have a bunch of dead passengers because he did not like them or innocent passengers being turned against because the pilot did not like them. Most pilots are not heros or great its a job. The pilots who gave up the airplane on 9/11 were dumb. You never open the door to a terrorist. Instead just have a reenforced door and that should fix any possibility for a terrorist gaining control of the plane.
 
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stalin_was_a_nice_being said:
NO, GOD NO NO NO NO!!! I have met some airline pilots who were the biggest douches ever. Give them a gun and an even bigger worth of themself you will have a bunch of dead passengers because he did not like them or innocent passengers being turned against because the pilot did not like them. Most pilots are not heros or great its a job. The pilots who gave up the airplane on 9/11 were dumb. You never open the door to a terrorist. Instead just have a reenforced door and that should fix any possibility for a terrorist gaining control of the plane.
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How many pilots do you actually personally know? Do you know anything about their training or appreciate the split second decisions they have to make or acknowledge how cool they behave under pressure? On 9/11 cockpit doors were not required to be locked and if they were they were easily knocked down. The 9/11 pilots did not simply hand over control. They were over powered, attacked and killed!
 
ADK_Forever said:
How many pilots do you actually personally know? Do you know anything about their training or appreciate the split second decisions they have to make or acknowledge how cool they behave under pressure? On 9/11 cockpit doors were not required to be locked and if they were they were easily knocked down. The 9/11 pilots did not simply hand over control. They were over powered, attacked and killed!
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I personally know 23. Its easy to know pilots when you are one yourself;)

And here we go with the American attitude for pilots. I swear pilots have become part of the government that every American worships like the police. They can do no wrong. Many people work in an environment where they have to be cool under pressure and make split second decisions. And really you have no idea what its like to be a pilot so do kindly stfu. It isn't that hard. Now flying a fighter jet or bomber or military helicopter those are different. Those are pressure cookers to the point where most commercial pilots would fail under.
 
**** the pilots. Let me carry a gun on the plane.

Won't be any crying babies on that flight...that's for sure!
 
ADK_Forever said:
A little touchy there, ehh sparky? :yes:
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no. You just are an idiot. Pilots do not deserve a gun, they already have many special privileges that we do not have while flying.
 
stalin_was_a_nice_being said:
no. You just are an idiot. Pilots do not deserve a gun, they already have many special privileges that we do not have while flying.
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Name calling? Hmmm, I must have hit a nerve, ehh? What happened, you were denied a promotion, chosen route, what? I sense a lot of insecurity from you.

I never said they "deserve" a gun. Them being "allowed" a gun would not be a "privilege". It would be a "responsibility". Obviously many procedures and qualifications would need to be put in place to make sure that emotionally unstable persons, such as yourself, would not be allowed a gun.
 
ADK_Forever said:
Name calling? Hmmm, I must have hit a nerve, ehh? What happened, you were denied a promotion, chosen route, what? I sense a lot of insecurity from you.

I never said they "deserve" a gun. Them being "allowed" a gun would not be a "privilege". It would be a "responsibility". Obviously many procedures and qualifications would need to be put in place to make sure that emotionally unstable persons, such as yourself, would not be allowed a gun.
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Nothing wrong, and no I am not an unstable person. You don't even know the very definition of an unstable person which shows you don't know anything therefore you should keep your mouth shut.
 
Phantom said:
I've always been a supporter of the idea to let airline pilots keep a loaded pistol in the cockpit area of the plane for the safety of the passengers as well as the staff. This idea has been around for awhile, and Ron Paul even introduced a bill to do just that about a year ago. So what do you think, good idea or bad idea?
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Aside from the fact that this has been in place for some time now...

Not just yes, but hell yes.

It is a GREAT idea for those that know how to land to plane to have the ability to defend the flight deck with deadly force.
 
Vader said:
Provided the weapon in question is located with ceramic rounds that cannot pierce the hull of the aircraft; I see nothing wrong with it.
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Explosive decompression is a myth.
 
Orius said:
No, pilots are responsible for flying the plane and keeping it stable. Having armed security on planes is what air marshals are for and I support having one on every plane in international airspace.
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Why is it a bad idea for those who know how to land the plane be able to defend the flight deck?
 
Goobieman said:
Explosive decompression is a myth.
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Yeah, I saw that on Mythbusters too, However a round hitting some electronic or hydraulic system could cause some problems. Not to mention the damage it could do to innocent passengers.
 
Goobieman said:
Why is it a bad idea for those who know how to land the plane be able to defend the flight deck?
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I think it's a good idea as long as it's their decision and they have had the extra training needed to do it.
 
Dirty Harry said:
Yeah, I saw that on Mythbusters too, However a round hitting some electronic or hydraulic system could cause some problems. Not to mention the damage it could do to innocent passengers.
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These systems have multiple back-ups; the chances of taking out all of them with randomly placed shots is pretty slim.

As for the passsengers -- if you lose the flight deck, they're all probably dead. A few wounded beats hundreds dead, every time.
 
stalin_was_a_nice_being said:
You never open the door to a terrorist. Instead just have a reenforced door and that should fix any possibility for a terrorist gaining control of the plane.
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Only a fool bets his life on a passive defense.
 
If the pilots have proper training I see no reason why this should not be allowed.

Only a great fool in the age of terrorism would be against this. If the pilots had been armed all along, many hijackings including 911 would have been stopped cold.
 
Goobieman said:
These systems have multiple back-ups; the chances of taking out all of them with randomly placed shots is pretty slim.

As for the passsengers -- if you lose the flight deck, they're all probably dead. A few wounded beats hundreds dead, every time.
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I agree that they should be armed if they choose, but they better know what they are doing. I am not sure, but I would think a few rounds in the control panel could make a mess of things.
 
Dirty Harry said:
I agree that they should be armed if they choose, but they better know what they are doing. I am not sure, but I would think a few rounds in the control panel could make a mess of things.
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I agree it should not be forced on the pilot. Good point.
 
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