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Wireless Devices Could Foil Hijack Attempts

ErikPeterson writes Flight attendants soon may be outfitted with wireless devices that would be used to alert pilots of attempted hijackings or other in-air security threats. The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday that it plans to require that airlines provide a way for the cabin crew to "discreetly notify" pilots "in the event of suspicious activity or security breaches in the cabin." The proposed regulation, which is not yet final, grew out of an advisory panel that the Transportation Department created after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. That panel recommended that cabin crew have "a method for immediate notification to the flight deck during a suspected threat in the cabin" that would permit pilots to take appropriate action, such as beginning an immediate landing."

14 of 312 comments (clear)

  1. Ground Breaking! by Mateito · · Score: 5, Funny

    Cool. So this is the first real-world implementation of Wi-Fi-Fly-Hi-Ji technology!

    1. Re:Ground Breaking! by Alien+Being · · Score: 5, Funny

      At first I thought you were a marketing genius, then I read the subject.

  2. Very nice, except... by Kjella · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...what is a pilot going to do when the alarm goes off? Go back there and check it out? Land the plane... right, because that's so subtle. You only have to take the plane down 30000ft, ding the searbelts and more often than not, notify the passengers because it happens to be very damn visible from all the windows.

    --
    Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
  3. Re:Flight computer overrides pilot's commands by Quiet_Desperation · · Score: 4, Funny

    PILOT: Oh, crap! Hijackers.
    COPILOT: Switch on the computer control.
    PILOT: (flips switch)
    COMPUTER: Would you like to play a game?
    PILOT: Oh, crap!

  4. Alternative Solutions by Quiet_Desperation · · Score: 4, Funny

    Air marshals putting bullets in the heads of potential hijackers can foil them, too. :)

    Why bother with potentially cranky technological solutions when extreme violence works better, and is much more satisfying?

    Remember: violence is the last refuge of the incompenent... because the competent don't leave it until last. :D

    1. Re:Alternative Solutions by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      > Remember: violence is the last refuge of the incompenent... because the competent don't leave it until last. :D

      So, umm, what DO the competant do last, after they finish shooting the hijackers? :)

  5. further uses by johnny+cashed · · Score: 4, Funny

    Could this also notify the flight crew of impending airline bankruptcy?

  6. Re:Cell Phones by isometrick · · Score: 3, Funny

    Yes, because some 16 year old twit notifying her boyfriend (and probably the rest of the plane) of what kind of sandwich she just ate is much more important than notifying the pilots of a hijacking ...

  7. This just in by JVert · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Hold up there skip, I.. i'm getting an email. Oh my god! we're getting hijacked! Wait. No, I got another one that says we're ok, it was a joke. Wait! another one! this one... hey skip? Can we drop by Nigeria? Aparently this guy has 10 million dollars and he'll give us half if we just help him get it out of the country. Ha! you gotta see this one, aparently Cathy stole Ausies lunch and is ripping her a new one via bluetooth! Hey is that a mountain ahead?"

  8. Re:Not so bad... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    The parent says: "Maybe they'd be better off with something like the health monitors I saw on the Tour de France. They're wireless and transmit things like heart rate to a monitor. The pilot would have to evaluate the info. If he sees one crew member with a sudden heart rate increase, he can check on that person, but if it happens to two or more at once, that would be a strong indication that something stressful is happening in the plane.".

    Right. Can you spell m-i-l-e-h-i-g-h-c-l-u-b?

  9. Re:Simple direct solution... by Concerned+Onlooker · · Score: 3, Funny
    ...more planes will crash due to pilot fatigue...

    Probably not, since most of the flying is by computer. In fact, cockpit crews of the future will consist of only one pilot and a dog. The pilot's job is to feed the dog. The dog's job is to keep the pilot from touching anything.

    --
    http://www.rootstrikers.org/
  10. Re:Not so bad... by erroneus · · Score: 5, Funny

    Then they could use some other means... say, a device that would measure the wetness of the wearer's underwear. If they piss themselves, it could set the alarm off! I'm not sure what you would call this technology, but I suppose it just *DEPENDS* on the creator. ;)

  11. Really simple solution by wowbagger · · Score: 1, Funny
    Here's a really simple solution that:
    1. Prevents hijacking
    2. Prevents the annoying cell phone user next to you.
    3. Prevents the screaming baby problem.
    4. Prevents the annoying kid kicking your seat.
    5. Stops the assholes who, when the plane lands, jump up and block the aisle for five minutes recovering their stuff from the overhead rather than letting those of us who already have our stuff get off the plane first.
    6. Prevents crappy in-flight movies.
    7. Allows the airlines to increase the number of people on the plane.
    8. Prevents the fat guy next to you from overflowing onto your seat.


    How can such a wonder be accomplished? Simple - anesthetize the passengers, then load them up like cordwood on the plane, and bring them out on the other side. You don't have to fully knock them out - just dope them up so much they cannot do anything meaningful.


    NOTE TO CLUELESS SLASHBOTS:

    The above post was HUMOR. It was in no way a suggestion of a real course of action. The poster is well aware of the risks of anesthesia.

    PS: Hallelujah! Slashdot that actually fixes the damn bug where adding a </li> tag to a list did not work!
  12. Re:Simple direct solution... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Dog is my co-pilot?