DALLAS (KRT) — In the year since the horrific terrorist skyjackings of September 11, 2001, Air Force jets have forced a number of passenger planes to land due to suspicious actions taken by passengers.
Most recently, on Sept. 11, 2002, the anniversary of the world’s worst terrorist assault, a plane flying from Las Vegas to Memphis was forced to land in Ft. Smith, Arkansas. Thankfully, no more planes have been taken over by terrorists — thus far.
But, what if they had?
Or, what if they are in the future?
At the present time, our final line of defense is for the U.S. Air Force to shoot down skyjacked jets, passengers and all, before they are turned into manned missiles. Recently, Congress acted to prevent this terrible and avoidable scenario by voting to arm pilots, even though that should have been the first response to the threat of terrorism.
It’s good that Congress finally got on board because, while increasing security at airports is a good idea, no system is perfect. Over the 2002 Labor Day weekend, for example, reporters from The New York Daily News carried a variety of knives and other weapons through checkpoints at 11 U.S. airports.
Airline pilots are among the most highly trained and carefully screened professionals in the world. About 55 percent of the nation’s 114,000 pilots are former military personnel with extensive firearms training.
Each pilot is daily entrusted with aircraft valued at many millions of dollars, carrying both thousands of gallons of extremely volatile jet fuel and thousands of passengers. Their job requires them to make split-second, critical decisions, sometimes in life-or-death circumstances.
America should not, and need not, suffer through another day like Sept. 11, 2001, ever again. Arming pilots is not only the best response to keep both airline passengers and people on the ground safe from terrorist assaults in the sky, it also the most likely to prevent terrorist acts altogether. People already trust pilots with their lives — it’s time to trust them with firearms.