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CNN Live At Daybreak

Widow of 9/11 Pilot Lobbies Congress for Arming Pilots

Aired July 19, 2002 - 06:06   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.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: The widow of one of the pilots killed in the terrorist attack last September is now speaking out on an issue that's very close to her heart: putting guns in the hands of airline pilots.

Here is Patti Davis with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATTI DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ellen Saracini never thought she'd be lobbying on Capitol Hill for guns in the cockpit.

ELLEN SARACINI, WIDOW OF 9/11 PILOT: We'd have another 3,000 people here today if my husband would have been armed, and if all of them would have been armed. We weren't prepared.

DAVIS: Her husband, Victor, was the pilot of United Flight 175 on its way from Boston to Los Angeles when it was commandeered on September 11 and crashed into the World Trade Center. He was scheduled to come home the next day.

Saracini says if her husband were here today, he'd be the one at the microphone instead of her.

SARACINI: My husband discussed the arming of pilots with me, and he believes strongly that it was a valid means of ensuring aircraft safety.

DAVIS: Last week, the House of Representatives passed a bill allowing pilots to be armed. Saracini hopes the Senate will now do the same. Key leaders are opposed, as well as the Bush administration. They say pilots need to focus on flying, not shooting. Saracini disagrees.

SARACINI: They need to understand that the last layer of security is in the cockpit. And all of these guys are trained professionals in emergencies, so they would have just been able to use the guns and been able to diffuse them right away.

DAVIS: Other measures, such as air marshals, fortified cockpit doors and beefed-up security screening are not enough, she says.

(on camera): What about the issue of stun guns? Now, he was a United pilot.

SARACINI: Yes.

DAVIS: And now United is saying this is the answer. What do you think?

SARACINI: They needed to come up with something. I think that's good that they did, but it's not enough. We know it's not enough. It can only control one person at a time. We need to control all of them all of the time, and guns are needed.

DAVIS (voice-over): To honor her husband of 18 years, Saracini has started a scholarship fund, a memorial park and even a Web site, but she says if he'd only had a gun, all of that wouldn't be necessary.

Patti Davis, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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