Pilot's gun discharges on US Airways flight

wcnc via Drudge Report ^ | March 23, 2008 | DIANA RUGG

[RDTF]

CHARLOTTE, N.C.-- A US Airways pilot’s gun accidentally discharged during a flight from Denver to Charlotte Saturday, according to as statement released by the airline. The statement said the discharge happened on Flight 1536, which left Denver at approximately 6:45am and arrived in Charlotte at approximately 11:51am.

The Airbus A319 plane landed safely and none of the flight’s 124 passengers or five crew members was injured, according to the statement. It was a full flight. An airline spokeswoman said the plane has been taken out of service to make sure it is safe to return to flight. A Transportation Safety Administration spokeswoman reached by WCNC Sunday said the pilot is part of TSA’s Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) program, which trains pilots to carry guns on flights.

-snip-

[Travis McGee]

Actually, there is nothing wrong with a Glock. Just keep the dang thing in a holster until you want to shoot somebody! Then it will work, guarandamnteed, 18 times in a row.

[Inyo-Mono]

Actually, revolvers are deceiving in that they are internally much more complicated (more moving parts) than a semiauto.

Maybe so, but it is no big deal to totally tear a revolver completely apart (including all internal parts) to clean it. I have done it many times with my black powder revolvers.

[safisoft]

Well, please explain.

I am not permitted. Read #110 and think about it.

[DBrow]

Good thing the gun was in the cockpit when it fired itself. There’s electronics and cables down around the cargo bays, if it had fired itself there it may have caused damage, maybe hitting the center fuel tank!

[JustTheTruth]

Glad my pilot didn't let her gun go off accidentally. She flies with a heavy finger.

[tarheelswamprat]

Everybody knows that Glocks go off by themselves.

Naah! But an awful lot of posters on FR do... /grin

[stylin19a]

Pilots could carry up until July 2001. I wonder if the 9/11 terrorists knew the the pilots were unarmed ?

[DBrow]

What’s the trigger pull of a Glock vs a revolver?

[wrench]

Less is more.

Of course, you are right. Those zoomies don’t need gunz anyway, they already have fire extinguishers and fire axes, no need for firearms as well.........

[DBrow]

“All the more reason not to have a round in the chamber.”

That’s what the Marines in Lebanon were told to do, what could go wrong?

I think Condition 1 is OK, but you should not goof around with it in that state. It’s safe in its holster and won’t go off if you have a good holster.

Let’s see what details come out.

[Uri’el-2012]

What’s the trigger pull of a Glock vs a revolver?

128 posted on 03/23/2008 8:34:44 PM MDT by DBrow

Glocks come in 3.5#, 5#, 8.5# and 12# triggers

A DA revolver is about 12# uncocked and about 5# cocked.

[Eaker]

What’s the trigger pull of a Glock vs a revolver?

I have seen between 3 to 15 pounds. The first for competition and the highest for New York cops.

[Dagny&Hank]

NO they don’t. And sitting behind a locked, reinforced door, means he should not have it in Condition One. No reason for a round to be chambered.

So when the door opens for any reason the pilot is supposed to pull out the gun and chamber a round? And when the door closes, the pilot is supposed to unchamber that round? How many times does the pilot do that? And then there is the issue of the time to chamber a round when the door is forcefully breached. IMO, it's safer to leave it loaded, with a round in the chamber, and the gun in the holster.

[Mr Rogers]

Subjectively, I cannot tell the difference between the DA trigger pull on my semi-automatic Ruger .45 and my Dan Wesson .357. I’d say my .357 has a lighter trigger pull used single action.

[tarheelswamprat]

re: “Now, Pussy, you know a lot more about planes than guns. That’s a Smith and Wesson 45, and if you fire at me at this close range, the bullet will pass through me and the fuselage like a blowtorch through butter. The cabin will depressurize, and we’ll both be sucked into outer space together. If that’s how you want to enter the United States, you’re welcome. As for me, I prefer the easy way.”...007 to Pussy Galore in GOLDFINGER

That's a great scene and line from a really cool movie. However, the scenario Bond is describing is pure Hollywood myth and BS. This myth of a single small-caliber puncture in the fuselage automatically resulting in "explosive decompression" is simply nonsense.

While no one should claim that such an occurrence would be desirable, the fact is that all pressurized airplanes are, by design, constantly leaking air. The pressurization status is maintained just by having the pumps maintain the desired differential between the inside pressure and the outside pressure. I have read somewhere that on a large airliner the fuselage exhaust hole for this system is about the size of a basketball.

If you shot a hole through the fuselage wall with a pistol you could probably seal it by slapping one of those magazines from behind the seats over it.... /grin

[Lancey Howard]

Thanks!

FRegards,
LH

[donmeaker]

I have a .45 revolver by my bed. I get the benefit of .45ACP modern bullet design, and the simplicity of point click interface. And moon clip reloading. And that sweet S&W trigger. And nearly infinite reliability.

[Lancey Howard]

Yes, I saw that. G. Gordon Liddy was right.

[DBrow]

Thanks!

[DBrow]

Thanks!

So in NY, if pull length is equal, Glocks and revolvers are the same.

But a 12 lb revolver and a 5 lb Glock are not the same wrt trigger snags or other things poking to go-bar.

I like Glocks, most NDs I’ve heard of had nothing to do with design.

Glocks being popular with cops and civvies alike, there are lots of them out there, so an accident won’t be that rare.