Psychological tests and no holsters....

[pipers]

WASHINGTON -- Commercial airline pilots won't be able to use holsters to carry guns into the cockpit under the final plan for arming pilots announced Tuesday by the Transportation Security Administration.
The TSA will require weapons to be transported to and from planes in locked cases that are inside nondescript bags. Pilots may holster the weapons only when inside the cockpit.
"We don't want that weapon floating around inside the cabin," TSA spokesman Robert Johnson said. "It is for the express purpose, according to the law, of defending the cockpit during the flight."
The TSA plan mirrors the recommendations made last week by a task force comprised of agency employees.
Pilots will be required to undergo psychological and background checks before being selected for a five-day training program that will include lessons on marksmanship, defensive tactics and legal policies, Johnson said. After finishing training, pilots would be issued .40-caliber, semiautomatic pistols.

 

[Dep676]

I would say a Glock 22 it is a nice .40 cal. The one to the left is Glock 36 a compact .45 cal. It would also make a nice weapon in the cockpit. There is also a nice compact .40 cal Glock 27. Holds 9 or 11 in the magazine and probably one in the chamber. That could spray some gray matter around.

 

[Deftone45075]

I wonder if pilots will be exempt from the Hi Cap ban, or if they will have to get the 10 rnd. or less mags. Of course it depends on the weapon and if there is even an available hi cap for it.

I'd much rather have the 36, more comfortable to handle than the wider glocks.

 

[Dep676]

I would say that they won't be able to have the high cap mag's. Mine have LE or Military use stamped right on them. Depending where they live it might be able to buy one or register it.

I would rather have the 36 also. At least they are going to be able to carry a gun. So I guess beggar's can't be chosers.

 

[cessna_driver2]

I can see the headlines now.

"Armed drunk pilot taken off flight from xxxx"

 

[Bluto]

"I would say that they won't be able to have the cap mag's. Mine have LE or Military use stamped right on them."

I'm not sure I follow you. This would be law enforcement use. Pilots selected for the Federal Flightdeck Officer program will be federal law enforcement officers.

 

[Dep676]

If that is the case they could get high cap mag's. What part of law enforcement would they be? I don't know much about the whole thing. Would that would mean that they would arrest powers also.

 

[EagleRJ]

If that is the case they could get high cap mag's. What part of law enforcement would they be? I don't know much about the whole thing. Would that would mean that they would arrest powers also.

FFDOs will have jurisdiction limited to the cockpit.

And no, if the weapon is unholstered in an emergency, we're not going to be arresting anyone...

 

[Draginass]

It's obvious that the Bush Administration does not want pilots to be able to defend their cockpit with lethal force. He's made the process so onerous as to be impractical.

Although I volunteered to be armed, I will refuse under the conditions posed by the TSA. They are LOOKING for an excuse to show the program doesn't work and they're going to find it. With their summary authority to revoke a certificate, a pilot would be foolish to incur their rath.

Congradulations Mr. Bush, looks like your bueracrats win again, albeit at the expense of airline safety . . . . but then who cares about the airline industry anyway.

 

[ifly4food]

Congradulations Mr. Bush, looks like your bueracrats win again, albeit at the expense of airline safety . . . . but then who cares about the airline industry anyway.

Apparently not the Bush administration nor the TSA.

One sees us as a bunch of fat, greedy, overpaid organized labor suppoters who should subsidize the economic recovery of the industry.
The other sees us as an uncontrollable security threat that should be regulated out of business.