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Subject: A Pilot's Perspective
Published: 9/19/01 Author: Peter Hannaford
As it was at most U.S. airports, last Saturday was the first near-normal
day at Denver International since the terrorist attacks. On United's
Flight 564 the door had just been locked and the plane was about to pull
out of the gate when the captain came on the public address system.
"I want to thank you brave folks for coming out today. We don't have any
new instructions from the federal government, so from now on we're on
our own."
The passengers listened in total silence. He explained that airport
security measures had pretty much solved the problem of firearms being
carried aboard, but not weapons of the type the terrorists apparently
used, plastic knives or those fashioned from wood or ceramics.
"Sometimes a potential hijacker will announce that he has a bomb. There
are no bombs on this aircraft and if someone were to get up and make
that claim, don't believe him. "If someone were to stand up, brandish
something such as a plastic knife and say 'This is a hijacking' or words
to that effect here is what you should do: Every one of you should stand
up and immediately throw things at that person pillows, books,
magazines, eyeglasses, shoes, anything that will throw him off balance
and distract his attention. If he has a confederate or two, do the same
with them. Most important: get a blanket over him, then, wrestle him to
floor and keep him there. We'll land the plane at the nearest airport
and the authorities will take it from there."
"Remember, there will be one of him and maybe a few confederates, but
there are 200 of you. You can overwhelm them. "The Declaration of
Independence says 'We, the people' and that's just what it is when we're
up in the air: we, the people, vs. would-be terrorists. I don't think we
are going to have any such problem today or tomorrow or for a while, but
some time down the road, it is going to happen again and I want you to
know what to do. "Now, since we're a family for the new few hours, I'll
ask you to turn to the person next to you, introduce yourself, tell them
a little about yourself and ask them to do the same."
The end of this remarkable speech brought sustained clapping from the
passengers. He had put the matter in perspective. If only the passengers
on those ill-fated flights last Tuesday had been given the same talk, I
thought, they might be alive today. One group on United Flight 93, which
crashed in a Pennsylvania field, apparently rushed the hijackers in an
attempt to wrest control from them. While they perished, they succeeded
in preventing the terrorist from attacking his intended goal, possibly
the White House or the Capitol. Procedures for dealing with hijackers
were conceived in a time when the hijackers were usually seeking the
release of jailed comrades or a large amount of money. Mass murder was
not their goal.
That short talk last Saturday by the pilot of Flight 564 should set a
new standard of realism. Every passenger should learn the simple (?) but
potentially life-saving (?) procedures he outlined. He showed his
passengers that a hijacking does not have to result in hopelessness and
terror, but victory over the perpetrators. The Airline Pilots
Association, the pilots' union, last week dropped its opposition to
stronger cockpit doors and is now calling for retrofits. (Its
opposition was based on pilot concerns about getting out easily in
emergency situations.) The scandal of easily penetrated airport security
will result in congressional calls for a federal takeover of the
security system.
Previous efforts to reform security procedures and raise standards have
been talked to death. This time, however, no lobbying efforts must be
allowed to prevent airport security from getting the reforms that are
needed: federal operation, rigorous training, decent pay and no foreign
nationals eligible for employment.
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