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American Morning

The Big Question: Should Pilots Carry Guns in Cockpit?

Aired April 08, 2002 - 07:20   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Our big question this morning: Should pilots carry guns in the cockpit? If commercial airline pilots have their way, lock and load would be part of the preflight checklist.

The five largest pilot unions representing 114,000 commercial airline pilots are appealing directly to the president for the right to bear arms in the cockpit. Recent breeches of airport security include a passenger in New Orleans who boarded a flight with eight knives and to pairs of scissors.

And in Tampa, the airport was evacuated when baggage screeners thought they saw a gun, but the would-be passenger escaped with his suspicious bag. The pilots say they want to be the last line of defense. But so far the Bush administration has been cool to the idea of arming pilots.

Al Aitken is the Allied Pilots Association member who joins us this morning from Washington D.C. -- welcome, Al. Nice to have you with us.

AL AITKEN, ALLIED PILOTS ASSOCIATION: Good morning, Jack.

CAFFERTY: Why do your members want to be armed? Why is that a good idea?

AITKEN: Well, as you said, Jack, the pilots believe that we should be the last line of defense. You know, currently, the last line of defense is a U.S. fighter shooting down the commercial airliner full of innocent passengers. We believe there should be a multiple layered strategy of security. Multiple layers on the ground and in the air.

In the air, we would want federal air marshals. We would like some defense capability for the cabin crews. We want the improved cockpit door. And then as a last line of defense, we would like to have the passengers armed.

CAFFERTY: The pilots you mean?

AITKEN: I'm sorry.

CAFFERTY: It's not the passengers.

AITKEN: Yes, sir. The pilots, that's correct. CAFFERTY: All right let me just -- let me just play devil's advocate with you here, because we don't have somebody from the other side. So I'll take that role for a second. But in the event of an emergency, isn't your first priority the safety of the passengers, i.e. getting that plane down and landing it? And, two, if would-be hijackers know the pilots are armed, don't you become even a bigger target than you would be already?

AITKEN: Well with regard to the emergency situations, we practice emergencies on a continuous basis in our training. And the way we practice that is to have one pilot always at the controls and the other pilot handle the emergency. And this situation would be no different.

And we would be behind a locked cockpit door.

CAFFERTY: Right.

AITKEN: The only reason we would use our weapons would be the defense of that cockpit. And that would assume that somebody is conducting an unauthorized breech of that cockpit door.

CAFFERTY: All right. Let me ask you about the politics of this. A CNN "TIME" poll that was conducted a few weeks after the terrorist attack on America on September 11th indicated that the public, by the margin of almost two to one, is in favor of you people who are flying the planes carrying weapons. Why hasn't the government been more cooperative? Why doesn't the Department of Transportation come around and say, "OK, you can undergo firearms training and start packing heat?"

AITKEN: Well, as you know, Jack, the Aviation and Transportation Security Act that President Bush signed on the 19th of November contains provisions for arming pilots in it. But those provisions are being ignored by his administration. And I can only assume that it includes some philosophical differences with regard to the use of firearms. And it might possibly also include some pressure from the Airline Transport Association and the economic factors involved.

CAFFERTY: Speaking of pressure, what happens if a gun is fired and the airplane is at an altitude of, say, 35,000, 40,000 feet, and that bullet pierces the skin of the fuselage? You get a rapid depressurization of the cabin. I mean, what happens then? That's a very dangerous situation, is it not?

AITKEN: No, sir, it is not necessarily a dangerous situation. That's a very common question. The airplanes are pressurized, and the pressurization is controlled by the outflow of air from that fuselage. So if we add a small hole because of a bullet htat penetrated the skin, all that's really going to happen is that pressurization control valve is going to adjust to keep the pressure stabilized.

In the meantime, the pilots will be trying to descend and landing as soon as possible.

CAFFERTY: You know, your organization, the Allied Pilots Association, as a group is in favor of this. But there have to be members who say, "I don't want any part of this. I don't want to carry a gun. It's extra risk, it's extra danger, it's extra responsibility. I've got enough to worry about." How big an element within your organization is not in favor of carrying loaded guns on commercial flights?

AITKEN: Well approximately 15 percent. Eight-five percent of our organization, we represent 14,000 of American Airlines. And, also, 85 percent of the almost 60,000 pilots represented by the Airline Pilots Association believes that pilots should be armed.

CAFFERTY: All right, Al. Our time has expired. It's an interesting issue. Hopefully there will be some sort of definitive decision forthcoming from the government soon. I appreciate your time this morning. Thank you for being with us.

AITKEN: Thank you, Jack. It was my pleasure.

CAFFERTY: All right. Al Aitken, with the Allied Pilots Association.

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