Free Republic

Inadequate handgun rules designed by Department of Homeland Security officials are to blame for last weekend's accidental discharge of a pistol by a commercial pilot during landing preparations, a pilots association said yesterday. "The pilot has to take his gun off and lock it up before he leaves the cockpit, so he was trying to secure the gun in preparation for landing, while he was trying to fly the airplane, too," said David Mackett, president of the Airline Pilots Security Alliance. "In the process of doing that, the padlock that is required to be inserted into the holster pulled the...

A US Airways pilot accidentally discharged his gun in the cockpit during a flight from Denver to Charlotte, N.C., according to the Transportation Safety Administration. The Airbus A319 landed safely after the incident Saturday and without any injuries to the 124 passengers on board, a spokesperson for the TSA told ABCNEWS.com today. The TSA said the passengers were unaware that a gun had been fired in the cockpit. The pilot, who both the TSA and US Airways declined to identify, was a member of the Federal Flight Deck Officer program, an initiative put in place after the Sept. 11, 2001,...

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...

Box cutters, ice picks, knives, meat cleavers, brass knuckles and explosive devices are among the lethal weapons undercover government agents manage to smuggle past airport security, according to aviation security experts. They say the serious security gaps underline the need to arm more airline pilots - and quickly. Despite extensive security measures put in place since 9/11, the experts note, the agents succeed in getting the dangerous items past airport security staff nine times out of ten. Determined individuals would even been able to sneak firearms onboard, taking them apart and putting them together again once on the plane, according...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is trying to expand a program allowing airline pilots to carry weapons to include international flights. The program -- begun four years ago in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, airline hijackings -- allows pilots to carry weapons only in the cockpit. It is operated by the Federal Air Marshals Service, which also has armed air marshals as passengers on both domestic and international flights. "It's obvious that there's a threat internationally," Conan Bruce, a spokesman for the Air Marshals Service told USA Today. A number of other groups...

<p>Sens. Jim Bunning, Kentucky Republican, and Barbara Boxer, California Democrat, introduced the bill before the Easter recess to force the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to implement the Federal Flight Deck Officer program the way Congress intended.</p> <p>Mr. Bunning said the legislation "will take down the barriers TSA has thrown up, and will help make our skies more secure."</p>

www.gunowners.orgApr 2004 Congress to TSA: Arm More Pilots or Suffer Consequences Gun Owners of America 8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102 Springfield, VA 22151 (703)321-8585 Tuesday, April 6, 2004 Gun Owners of America alerted you in January to legislation that would soon be introduced by two pro-gun legislators, Senator Jim Bunning (R) of Kentucky and Rep. Joe Wilson (R) of South Carolina. Last week, both legislators announced the introduction of their bills at a press conference that was attended by GOA and several pilot organizations. "These pilots are the last line of defense against hijackings," Sen. Bunning said. "They very well...

Senator Tells TSA: Arm Pilots or Lose Funding By Robert B. Bluey CNSNews.com Staff Writer April 02, 2004 Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - Frustrated by the Transportation Security Administration's delay in arming airline pilots with guns, four members of Congress said Thursday they want the agency to quit dragging its feet. "We're not interested in any excuses from here on out. This is too important to our national security," said Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.), who introduced legislation that would require TSA to speed up the process of arming pilots. Bunning was joined by Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Conrad Burns...

<p>Pilots already trained to carry guns and operate sophisticated weapons systems are among 100 applicants rejected from a federal program to arm flight-deck officers to protect aircraft from terrorist attacks.</p> <p>Former police officers, firearms instructors and military pilots have filed written complaints with the Federal Flight Deck Officers (FFDO) program questioning its psychological- and background-test system, as well as its generic rejection letter that doesn't explain an applicant's purported shortcomings.</p>

(CNSNews.com) - The federal agency charged with providing security for U.S. airlines, and the airlines themselves are intentionally sabotaging the congressionally-mandated program to train and certify pilots who volunteer to carry guns in the cockpit, according to supporters of the program who claim tens of thousands of pilots have opted out s a result. Pilots with knowledge of the Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO), or "armed pilots" program tell CNSNews.com that the manner in which the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) requires FFDOs to carry their weapons not only discourages participation, but also renders them defenseless against potential terrorist attacks...

On November 19, 2002, the Homeland Security Act, H.R. 5005, was enacted into law, authorizing the training and certification of commercial airline pilots in the use of firearms, to protect the cockpit against hijackers. The Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) training program, administered by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), graduated the first weekly class of 48 volunteer pilots in April 2003. However, the second weekly class of 48 didn't graduate until July 2003, and as of January 2004, more than two years after the horrific attacks of September 11, 2001, only "500 to 800" out of more than 100,000 commercial...

(CNSNews.com) - A sponsor of the anti-terrorism legislation aimed at arming commercial airline pilots against hijackers says a threatening email uncovered as part of a CNSNews.com investigation into the implementation of that program, is "the final straw." U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) plans to introduce legislation, "right away," along with House Aviation Subcommittee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) and as many as 50 co-sponsors, to force major changes in the program. The proposal would primarily remove most of the Transportation Security Administration's influence over what is formally known as the Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) program. Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) is...