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This is a case of 20-20 hindsight. Some of last Tuesday's hijackers are on
tape saying "do as we say and you won't be harmed". It had been many years
since a US plane had been hijacked, and everyone in our country tended to
smooth over tough situations so that the end result could be positive.
Obviously, that frame of mind does not exist anymore. Had that talk been
given before the hijackings the pilot would have been removed, possibly in a
straightjacket. Now that US air travellers know what the stakes are the
situation is different. From now on there will be passengers willing to do
what has to be done because we all know the time for reasoning is past, just
as it is internationally.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Don Roos" <rosewood@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <omega-list@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, September 21, 2001 1:10 PM
Subject: OT:Fw: Flying Advice
> 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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