US Air firing pilot who's gun discharged

[A Squared]

It was not an accidental discharge. It was an inadverdent discharge,

You're going to have to explain in detail the difference between an "accidental" discharge and an "inadvertent" discharge and why exactly you think the difference is important, because it certainly seems to me like a meaningless semantic quibble with no real merit. But I'm always willing to learn.

 

[timmay]

Doesn't this situation beg the question, which is more likely to happen the "inadvertent" discharging of a firearm by a pilot or another hijacking. I would bet there will be more "Accidents" before hijack attempts.

 

[IBNAV8R]

Inadvertent or accidental, I've never heard of a modern firearm discharging without being manipulated.

 

[Fly-n-hi]

Doesn't this situation beg the question, which is more likely to happen the "inadvertent" discharging of a firearm by a pilot or another hijacking. I would bet there will be more "Accidents" before hijack attempts.

There have been at least 7 hijackings since 2006.

There has been 1 negligent discharge since the FFDO program was created in December, 2003.

None of the hijacked airliners were from US airlines. Coincidence?

Does this help to answer the question that was begged?




Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_notable_aircraft_hijackings#2000s

 

[A Squared]

Inadvertent or accidental, I've never heard of a modern firearm discharging without being manipulated.

Did you happen to watch the video? If not, do so and you'll see how the required procedure is an accident waiting to happen. Who in the He11 came up with the idea of threading the shackle of a padlock through the trigger guard, without being able to see where the trigger was? Granted, he apparently was performing this required procedure at a time when he should not have been; so if he'd been following the procedure according to SOP, it would have happened at the gate, rather than airborne. Would that have been better? Well they weren't airborne, so that's a bonus, but there are now people around the outside of the plane, so that's a minus.

 

[get2flyin]

Did you happen to watch the video? If not, do so and you'll see how the required procedure is an accident waiting to happen. Who in the He11 came up with the idea of threading the shackle of a padlock through the trigger guard, without being able to see where the trigger was?...................

There has only been on NEGLIGENT discharge because other people are following the procedure. Yeah..the trigger guard lock is goofy, but I guess they couldn't find a better way to secure make the weapon unusable without having it locked in the box so that's why they have a very specific set of procedures.

I think of it like this...you flew the DC-6, right? (*Love your avatar. Awesome airplane. Had a buddy who flew one for AeroFlight before the -215's) Say your company has a specific procedure for getting those tricky radials started and you decide to blow it off and come up with your own procedure. Say you're starting it one day using YOUR procedure and she catches fire and burns up. Who is to blame? Should you just get a slap on the wrist? If there is a procedure that they want you to use, use it. If you don't like it, get it changed. He didn't even wear the holster on this hip because he didn't like to have to undo his pretty little belt. He deserved walking papers.

 

[A Squared]

He didn't even wear the holster on this hip because he didn't like to have to undo his pretty little belt. He deserved walking papers.

Do you know this for a fact? Agreed that the gun was not on his hip when it discharged, but, if I understand correctly, you have to take the gun off, when you go to the restroom, and you have to take it off before you unass the airplane at the gate. And each time you thread the padlock through the trigger guard. Do you have any information which indicates he was doing something other than exactly what he would have been at the gate?

 

[get2flyin]

Do you know this for a fact? Agreed that the gun was not on his hip when it discharged, but, if I understand correctly, you have to take the gun off, when you go to the restroom, and you have to take it off before you unass the airplane at the gate. And each time you thread the padlock through the trigger guard. Do you have any information which indicates he was doing something other than exactly what he would have been at the gate?

I've watched the video that some wise-ass FFDO posted online to show how the holster is "faulty" and talked to guys that carry it. When the weapon is fully in the holster, the lock passes behind the trigger prohibiting removal from the holster. The ONLY way to get the padlock in front of the trigger where it could cause the weapon to fire is to undo the thumb snap and slide the weapon slightly out of the holster...THEN insert the padlock into the hole...THEN push the piston fully into the holster to secure the thumb strap. I don't know much about the TSA procedures, but I can say with 100% certainty that the thumb strap should NEVER be released unless the weapon is to be fully removed from the holster and the weapon should NEVER come out of the holster in the cockpit unless there is an actual threat to the security of the cockpit. Evidently, "Quick Draw McGraw's" personal procedure was to slide the thing slightly out of the holster because he felt that would give him a slight edge over the bad guys.

 

[Mr Wu]

Evidently, "Quick Draw McGraw's" personal procedure was to slide the thing slightly out of the holster because he felt that would give him a slight edge over the bad guys.

"Quick Draw McGraw's" personal procedure was to remove the weapon completely and place it on the glare shield during flight.

 

[ultrarunner]

"Quick Draw McGraw's" personal procedure was to remove the weapon completely and place it on the glare shield during flight.

C'mon, no one is THAT stupid! Not even an FFDO!