Archie Bunker's great idea

[ExactlyMyPoint]

Ya ya, I know there is some politics in this, but the important section is about arming all the passengers on airplanes. I personally feel that arming all the passengers on an airplane would be a great idea. People in the 1950s were armed on airplanes. The very first hijacking was foiled because the pilot came out and shot the hijacker. You never hear about that, though.

Pertinent part starts at 2:00ish

Arming passengers on airplanes

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[OldVet]

Be forewarned.

My son has taken armed air marshal training. Commandeered aircraft are no longer considered "hijacked" but are considered weapons of mass destruction. His duty would be to fight his way to the front and defend the cockpit at all cost, including shooting anyone posing a threat.

Do you really want a bunch of armed fools going up against someone trained and determined to eliminate any and all threats to the flight crew?

I know my son; he would prevail.

[ExactlyMyPoint]

Well, until 9/11, it was a viable solution. Good point OldVet.

[rammerjammer]

Heck no I don't want everyone on a plane armed. All it would take is one bad shot and decompression for the whole plane.

[gasmitty]

Heck no I don't want everyone on a plane armed. All it would take is one bad shot and decompression for the whole plane.

Not to hijack the thread, but decompression for the airplane is a big yawn... unlike the Hollywood sensationalism. Mythbusters even did a well-thought out experiment, and it took blowing out a 3-foot diameter hole with C4 to create any disruption inside the cabin.

But a stray bullet could damage wiring, hydraulic lines, and other things needed to keep the plane in the air. Most flight-critical systems have redundancy or backups, though.

[10thmtn]

Heck no I don't want everyone on a plane armed. All it would take is one bad shot and decompression for the whole plane.

Maybe you don't want to know this - but planes fly with holes leaking pressurized air all the time. That's why they need to keep pumping it in during the whole flight.

A few stray shots isn't going to do it.

[10thmtn]

Be forewarned.

My son has taken armed air marshal training. Commandeered aircraft are no longer considered "hijacked" but are considered weapons of mass destruction. His duty would be to fight his way to the front and defend the cockpit at all cost, including shooting anyone posing a threat.

Do you really want a bunch of armed fools going up against someone trained and determined to eliminate any and all threats to the flight crew?

I know my son; he would prevail.

Point one - if we really considered passengers (citizens) to be the irregular militia, and fly armed, then we would not need Air Marshals.

Point two - only a very small percentage of flights have an Air Marshall on board.

Point three - I sure as hell hope the Air Marshals are trained to spot the difference between a terrorist, and a passenger who is trying to help subdue the terrorist...especially since every attempt by a would-be terrorist to attack a US plane since 9-11 has been thwarted by passengers - not Air Marshals.

[DaRedneck]

I think the solution is to stop profiling grannies and 6 year olds for pat downs and extensive searches and maybe, just maybe, pat down folks that are more likely to disrupt a flight. But that's just me.

[gasmitty]

Maybe you don't want to know this - but planes fly with holes leaking pressurized air all the time.

Absolutely correct. I work with cabin pressure systems (among other things) and the valves that regulate cabin pressure have areas about 2000 times the area of a bullet hole!

[HKinNY]

I think the solution is to stop profiling grannies and 6 year olds for pat downs and extensive searches and maybe, just maybe, pat down folks that are more likely to disrupt a flight. But that's just me.

My brother recently flew El AL. It is the Israels airline. No pat downs. No nothing to the naked eye. You have been screened way before ever stepping into the airport. EVERYBODY is profiled. The guy who drives the shuttle bus to the gate agent to the flight crew anybody can some you from boarding the plane.