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Essay on Guns in the Cockpit

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Guns in the Cockpit

On the morning of September 11, 2001, four airplanes were hijacked and two of them, brought the collapse of the World Trade Center towers in New York City. As a result of these attacks on the United States, airports have come to the realization that the only way to prevent another hijacking is by strengthening the security on aircrafts through the cockpit. In order to secure the cockpit and ensure the safety of the passengers on board, guns were introduced as a possible solution in the event of an emergency situation like those that took place in September of 2001.

The Transportation Security Administration head John Magaw, announced the administrations position that they are against guns in cockpits and a pilot …show more content…

When the craft was in the air, the terrorists took the initiative and stormed into the cockpit and took over the controls, turning the aircraft into a guided missile (CBS 1). Increasing security immediately became an important aspect of airports shortly there after. Adequate security ensures the safety of the people in the air and citizens on the ground below. It is expected by passengers, that they are boarding a craft that will land safely at their intended destination. An aircraft should be a safe place for everyone and even though every person that enters the airport goes through the required security checkpoints, there is a small fraction of error. Someone will get by with a potential weapon and board the plane along with it; therefore, the captains should have some form of a rear-view mirror (Press 2). One of the many proposals made since the attacks is installing video cameras in the cabin to monitor passenger activity for any possible terrorist actions. A pilot should be aware of what is happening to the plane and the passengers on board at all times.

In a situation where someone is trying to hijack an airplane, there are three factors needed to be assessed. Does the terrorist have a weapon, are they attacking alone, and is he or she a trained fighter in the case of a Federal Air Marshal interfering (APSA 2)? In the incident of the World Trade Center attacks, the

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