Aircraft High Jackings are nothing new. In fact, the first-ever highjacking was recorded in Arequipa, Peru, in 1931 when the pilot was approached on the ground by armed revolutionaries. The incident eventually led to a 10-day standoff before they surrendered. Since the early days of aviation, it seems that there have been no aircraft defended by a firearm, so that poses the question, are pilots even allowed to carry guns?
Yes, A Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) is a commercial airline pilot who has been trained and licensed to carry a firearm to defend the aircraft against a highjacking attack. However, it’s important to note that not all pilots carry guns.
The Arming Pilots Against Terrorism Act was passed after the attacks on September 11, 2001, which directed the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to develop a program that provided an extra layer of security that extended to in-flight.
Under this program, the flight crew members would be authorized by the Department of Homeland Security to use firearms to defend against attempts of high jackings to gain control of their aircraft. In 2003, the program was extended to flight crews of cargo airliners by President George W. Bush.
Every year thousands of pilots go through the program, which is held in Artesia, New Mexico. The selectees receive around 56 hours of training on firearm safety and how to de-escalate the situation while being airborne.
The FFDO program is run by the Federal Air Marshal Service. However, the flight officer’s jurisdiction is limited to the time they are in flight. FFDO’s are considered federal law enforcement officers that have been sworn in by the Department of Homeland Security.
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Has a Federal Flight Duty Officer used a firearm to stop a terrorist attack before?
No, there has not been a reason to pull a firearm in defense since the program was implemented.
However, opposers of the program argued that inflight incidents would increase due to the number of FFDO’s carrying firearms in the cockpit.
However, there were not any major inflight incidents reported except on U.S. Airways Flight 1536 on March 24, 2008. Reports say a Federal Flight Deck Officer was attempting to stow his weapon in an overhead compartment. The firearm accidentally discharged in flight, causing the bullet to go through the side of the cockpit. The shot created a small hole that went entirely through the airframe.
A similar incident of irresponsibility by an FFDO occurred on January 13, 2011, aboard a JetBlue flight when an Air Marshalls bag containing his gun was accidentally picked up by another passenger fly. It was later realized by both parties and was eventually straightened out by the flight crew.
What More Protective Measures Are Taken?
The first step in keeping your flight safe starts on the ground. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, the United States government began to implement stricter security measures to thwart attacks on passenger airliners.
Transportation Security Administration
TSA is the first line of defense when it comes to passenger flight safety. TSA agents are trained to spot unusual behavior and follow a points-based checklist to help reduce the chances of a terrorist attack. They are also responsible for screening the luggage, passengers, and cargo, to ensure that they comply with regulations.
Body scanners
Body Scanners work by detecting metallic and non-metallic anomalies on the exterior of the body. However, they cannot detect anomalies hidden in body cavities, despite popular belief.
Baggage scanners
Baggage scanners have been around since the 1970s. The baggage scanner uses x-ray technology to see inside your luggage without having to open it. The x-ray scanner can pick up metal and organic anomalies.
If you are interested in learning more about what airport scanners can detect, you may want to read our article on airport scanners!
What Can Airport Scanners Detect? – Can They Detect Gold or Drugs?
Dogs
Dogs are used to detect bomb-making materials in the air, luggage, and passengers.
Random Search
If you have ever traveled through any airport in the United States, the odds are that you have been pulled aside and randomly searched.
Most random searches are non-invasive and generally consists of a pat-down, and luggage search.
Sometimes you may have your hands swapped with a substance that detects explosives residue for testing in an Ion-Mobility Spectrometer (IMS). The test will determine whether you go to your gate or get detained for further questioning.
Can Guns Really Prevent High Jackings?
Having a way to defend the aircraft could pose a risk to everyone on board, but they can also prevent a far worse catastrophe if a firearm is needed.
In 1948 a seaplane was hijacked in Southeast Asia in an attempted robbery. However, the plane crashed into the Pearl River Delta, killing nearly everyone on board. The only survivor was the lead suspect, who orchestrated the highjacking.
A similar incident happened in China on October 2, 1990. A hijacker attempted to gain control of the aircraft. Upon landing, the airliner crashed into a parked aircraft that just arrived, killing a total of 128 people on both aircraft.
On February 8, 2008, Eagle Airways Flight 2279 was hijacked shortly after departing Christchurch, New Zealand. The hijacker demanded that the flight be diverted to Australia. However, the female assailant stabbed both pilots and a passenger in the process. She alleged that she was carrying explosives on board, but nothing was found when the plane landed safely back in Christchurch.
Perhaps one of the strangest highjackings occurred in 1968 when 14-year-old David Booth attempted to hijack a Delta Airlines flight en route to Chicago. Booth was the youngest person to attempt such a daring feat but was not prosecuted because the government did not have facilities to handle the prosecution of juveniles.
How Does The flight Crew Stop a High Jacking Without a Firearm?
After September 11, 2001, there was a move to make flights safer. Aircraft started coming equipped with a locked bulletproof door to prevent would-be highjackers from gaining control of aircraft.
However, perhaps one of the best lines of defense is the passenger’s will to live.
On May 29, 2003, Qantas Flight 1737 departed Melbourne, Australia, bound for Launceston Airport in New Zealand. Approximately 10 minutes after take-off, a man attempted to hijack the flight with two sharpened wooden stakes he hid in his pocket. He was eventually overpowered by several passengers on the flight.
On June 29, 2012, 4 men attempt to hijack Tianjin Airlines Flight GS7554 ten minutes after departing England. There just happened to be 6 off-duty police officers on board heading to China for a business trip. The hijackers stabbed a flight crew member with an aluminum cane that had been sharpened at the tip to commandeer the aircraft. The plot was foiled when the police officers, along with the help of other passengers, subdued the Hijackers.
Are Planes Bullet Proof?
No, generally, aircraft are typically designed to be as light as possible, and a jets skin is usually made of aluminum or light composite material. Although shatterproof and robust aircraft windows are made of plexiglass, they are not bulletproof.
So, what if a bullet punctures the aircraft?
First of all, if a gun is fired in a confined space like an aircraft cabin, the sound could be deafening because the sound has nowhere to escape. The sound of a gun firing in a confined space could cause injury to passengers’ hearing.
Secondly, if a bullet punctures through the skin of the aircraft in flight, it’s a significant problem! This will cause the plane to depressurize. When the aircraft loses cabin pressure, the oxygen levels and temperature to drop. At altitudes of 35000 feet, the temperature can reach sub-zero temps as low as minus 50 degrees.
Perhaps the scariest part of puncturing the cabin in flight, is that it could cause of vortex that has enough suction power to suck a full-sized adult through the crevis. However, that would require a hole far larger than that caused by a gun!
Summary
Federal Flight Duty Officers(FFDO’s) undergo intense firearm and situational awareness training to defend the airliner with a gun. However, if the situation escalates, it does pose a risk to the aircraft and passengers.
Aircraft highjackings are an infrequent occurrence when you start to think about all the flights that happen daily. However, there is always a small chance that a highjacker in a desperate situation will attempt to commandeer an aircraft for personal gain.
One of the most effective means of apprehending a suspect is a collective effort by everyone aboard. Throughout the history of aviation, the passengers’ will to live has led to many unsuccessful high jackings.
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