And on the 96% of flights that have no FAMs, we can all be confident that the bad guys are incapable of devising a plan that would take the "100s of people" out of the equation. Thanks so much, I feel better already.
Quite frankly, I don't give a rats behind how you feel. You have the benefit of an armored door. The rest of us are the ones who will end up dealing with the problem. In the new paradigm, the cheap seats are up front. Everyone else is going to end up dealing with the problem before any of our newly minted FFDO Dirty Harrys have the chance to draw their heat and rely on their extensive training to solve the problem.
Pilots won't be saviors. Your job is to continue driving the bus to the station and let those with actual skin in the game deal with the problem.
As for your previously stated confidence in the highly trained law enforcement (non FAMs) types we have traveling aboard, rest assured that any notions of these folks as a parade of Jack Ryan clones is absurd. More common would be the overweight slob from a local Pennsylvania Sheriff's office, the 23 year old sweetie from the Smithsonian Institution, or the gung ho Barney Fife from the Agriculture Department. The number of people and agencies authorized to carry weapons on commercial aircraft is astounding, and I can assure you that they have no special training for this "mission." Their knowledge of issues specific to the discharge of weapons on aircraft would as a rule be non existent.
I'm quite certain I've seen a small requirement that anyone carrying on a plane these days has to at very least pass the class about flying while carrying. The vast majority of the feds who carry spend more time at FLETC than the FFDOs do
on the range alone. The vast majority also have more stringent qualification and requal courses of fire than the FFDO program.
In essence, it's likely that even the overweight slob from a PA Sheriff's office has as much firearm training as the FFDO does. The feds (even the Ag guys) all have more.
And, as your colleague vividly illustrated, all the background checks, training, and such in conjunction with his stellar firearm handling skills resulted in a .40 cal (probably somewhat larger, if they got any expansion on the panel and skin) hole in a jet. Under 10k, in a sterile environment, no less. Judgment and ability--your man is a perfect example of why pilots ought to stick to what they know--driving the bus and leaving defense to people who can get it holstered without blowing a hole in something.
You should stick to your light-twin wannabe flying at the local FBO, and spare the rest of us your half baked theories. :down:
Wilco. Want to know what the difference between me and a US Airways pilot is? I've never had a negligent discharge in flight. Or anywhere else, for that matter.
As above--stick to driving the freaking bus. That's really the only thing any pilot in the FFDO program can legitimately claim proficiency in, anyway.
Anybody ever actually use, or even hear that upstairs?
