Airline pilots should not be armed

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, everyone got in favor of the idea of arming the airline pilots. They felt that if the pilots of that unfortunate plane would have been armed, such a mishap could have been prevented.

However armed pilots in the plane would not make much of a difference as far as safety from terrorism is concerned. This argument is quite contrary from the general viewpoint and makes the thesis statement of the essay. If different angles of this issue were studied it would be easier to believe that weapons with pilots would do more harm than good.

Though airline pilots are from military background they cannot be expected to be supermen or heroes of the adventure films. Multitasking like taking charge of the plane, looking for alternatives to land the plane to a safe place as early as possible and fighting with the terrorists, all at the same time is impossible.

In order to save the passengers from the terrorist attacks the pilots might even loose concentration from their main task which might lead to a plane crash leading to the loss of lives of all those who are travelling. So it is better to concentrate on one task and do it successfully rather than multitask and spoil everything.

Arming the airline pilots means saving a lot of money. But where the passengers are paying so much, spending a little bit more for their safety is logical.

Having alternative security arrangements means a lesser degree of risk at the time of crisis situation. If the airline pilots try to combat the terrorists the passengers would not only fear of possible attacks from terrorists but also the plane crash which will not only kill them but also thousands of those who are on the ground.

Moreover even if the airline pilots are ready with weapons they might come to know about the presence of the terrorists in the flight at a later stage.

Since the cockpit door is difficult to penetrate, the terrorist would harm other crewmembers and the passengers and create chaos. Also, if they try to force the pilot to crash the plane in a large building that happened in the 9/11 crisis, then it will take a long time for them to enter the nearly impenetrable door of the cockpit.

While they are engaged in this the attempt of the pilot should be to safely land the plane wherever possible and inform the ground staff of the latest development so that they are able to arrange for necessary security measures as soon as the plane lands. Fighting and delaying the landing is illogical and risky.

It is argued that even when the security checks at the airports are getting more and more stringent it is impossible to deter the terrorists from committing crime. They would find some or the other way to get successful in their mission. So the airline pilots should be armed for the safety of the passengers.

But since it has become tougher to carry any lethal weapons on plane after passing through layers of security checks, the armed airline pilots would be an easy target for the terrorists in the flight. They would try to make use of the pilots’ weapons in order to achieve their goals. Hence weapon meant for the safety might result in the cause of loss of numerous lives. So the pilots should not be armed.

Some believe that since the terrorists can make certain bullet holes in the aircraft there is fear of rapid depressurizing of the aircraft. Hence to avoid this, the airline pilots should be armed.

Making bullet holes in the airliner would take a few minutes. By the time the crewmembers would inform the pilots of the presence of the suicide terrorists in the plane they would make multiple bullet holes. So even if the pilots were armed they would not be able to stop this.

Moreover, according to Mackett, Mr. Ron J. Hinderberger - Director, Aviation Safety Boeing Company have clarified that “…a bullet hole would almost certainly not cause a loss of cabin pressure. Even if it did, a loss of cabin pressure is a problem that pilots are trained to deal with quite easily.” So for tackling the problem of rapid depressurizing of the airliner the pilots do not require weapons but special techniques, which are a part of their training process.