My copilot had begun the "Before Starting Engines" checklist. "Rudder pedals and seats?" he challenged.
"Adjusted and locked," I responded without emotion.
"Oxygen masks, interphone and goggles?" my copilot continued.
"Set and checked," I mumbled.
"Weapon?"
"Safetied and secured," I answered while patting the leather holster on my left side.
Okay, let's stop the checklist. Did anybody just take a big gulp? Well, I did. By the time this column is in print, my airline may be rewriting our checklists. At the very least, we will be developing policies and procedures to accommodate armed pilots in our cockpits. Loaded weapons in a confined space? Loaded weapons in one of the most vulnerable parts of a highly technological machine? Is anybody having a problem with this concept? Firing a weapon requires a tremendous amount of responsibility. The government is now giving me that responsibility. The consequences of poor judgment can be deadly. Choosing not to participate is also my option, but there's one problem: I have to trust the judgment of the other pilot. If the other pilot errs in judgment I have no recourse. There are no dual controls on a 40-caliber Glock.
I just looked at my FAA license. It states that I can exercise the privileges of an airline transport pilot. I looked on the back of the license. I read: Airplane multiengine land. Airplane single engine land. B-727. B-757. B-767. Nope. I could not find my law enforcement rating.
Guns seem to attract guns. How many times have you read newspaper accounts of cop shootings, on-duty and off-duty? My friend has been a cop in Miami for 25 years. When it comes to handguns, he is an expert. His biggest fear is not being shot by a bad guy, but rather that he could be shot by a good guy. My friend has "friendly fire" stories that will curl your hair. Even with his years of experience and training, he is quick to acknowledge a very important factor when it comes to firing a gun for real. Adrenalin and fear can reduce judgment and accuracy in a split second.
So now that the world knows we may be packing heat, will my crew be targets for those with equal, deadly force? My cop friend makes an interesting point on this subject. He relays stories of police officers being shot by their own weapons. Unfortunately, it happens all the time. My friend offers an argument against an airline pilot having a loaded weapon in the secure area of the airport terminal. The bad guys now have access to the weapon. All they have to do is take us out of the picture.
If I carry a gun, will I be tempted to be a hero when the guy with the ski mask runs out of the convenience store? We all have our hobbies. Some of my colleagues enjoy the skill involved with firing a weapon. Remember Richard Crafts from Connecticut? He murdered his wife and put her through a wood chipper. Crafts was an auxiliary cop for a local police department. He was also a pilot for Eastern Airlines.
Recently, I flew a trip where we boarded a group of about 20 middle-aged guys traveling from Chicago to Miami. They were a bunch of overly happy Chicago Bears fans, if you catch my drift. Any one of these guys was big enough to help push our 757 back without assistance from the tug. If I had possessed a weapon at that time, and if they had caused a disturbance in the back, I could have shot one. After all, interference with an airline crewmember is a felony.
Do we completely throw out the old book? Remember the one that had airline pilots cooperating with the hijacker in an attempt to negotiate? In the '60s and '70s we had a few unscheduled flights to Havana. With some exceptions, nobody got hurt. Perhaps now it's better just to shoot first and ask questions later. I guess none of the normal lunatics board airplanes anymore.
Okay ... I know what you're thinking. No matter what the circumstance, airline pilots are to remain behind that cockpit door. Sure. That works in theory. But how many of us will be willing to ignore the shrieks of a desperate flight attendant? Would a loaded weapon make that scenario any less painful?
Debating the probability of another terrorist attack like September 11th is a waste of time. It could certainly happen. I watched in horror with the rest of the world on that day. My copilot and I were in Los Angeles, en route to the airport. We were to fly back to JFK. The N-numbers of the two airplanes my airline lost on that tragic day were both past entries in my logbook. Regardless of the emotional shock, I could not deny the diabolical ingenuity of the hijackers. Now that our cockpit doors are reinforced, requiring an operational secure procedure to open from the cabin, and now that we can carry weapons, do you think the terrorists will use ingenuity again? Do you think my weapon will make a difference?
Forget about the philosophical arguments for a moment. Let's say that the terrorists get through the cockpit door. I reach for my weapon. Where is it anyhow? If it's on my person, it will probably be in a shoulder holster. I am right-handed. I'll be pulling the gun out from my left side. Assuming I have any time to react, I will swing the gun backwards toward the threat. Bang! I shot my copilot as my arm extended across the center pedestal. I have a lot of adrenalin. I'm nervous. No problem.
Maybe the terrorists will still be waiting for my next bad shot. What if the copilot draws first? What if we both draw at the same time?
Remember Crocodile Dundee? Remember the scene where he is threatened with an oversized knife? We expected Crocodile Dundee to pull out a knife of equal size, but instead he draws a gun. We all laughed, but there's a lesson in the humor. It's a reality check. My cop friend told me he was trained on the "rule of 21." He was told that if the average bad guy has a knife and was intent on doing serious harm, you needed at least 21 feet of distance to draw your weapon and fire. To quote my friend, "That would make having a gun in the cockpit irrelevant."
