It seems to me that this could have been prevented by any number of simple precautions on the part of the airlines.
Hijackings have been a real threat for deecades, yet there has been little done to planes to make it difficult. security in airports has gone up, but once onboar, security is nearly non-existant.
How to be more secure without unduly troubling passengers?
-Isolate the cabin. On takeoff, the pilot, copilot and navigator are locked in. Remodel the plane a little so they have a micro-fridge and a toilet. Or, the pilots simply use a different door to enter the plane. If hijackers have to go through a bulkhead to reach the controls, they'll have a lot harder time of it.
-Prepare the crew. Train random (or volunteer) stedardess in armed and unarmed combat. Train and certify pilots the same way you would a security guard, and issue them a sidearm. Rather than being helpless victims, flight crews can be proactive.
-Plainclothes safety marshalls. Armed security personnel ride random flights providing for uncertainty in the minds of hijackers. Will this flight be easy? Or will it be "Passenger 57"?
-Pilot's Panic button/silent alarm. The pilot presses the button, starting a broadcast of black box info, audio/video cockpit monitors, and automatically switches control to a ground station. All this happens silently and instantly.
-And finally, more vigilant security at airports. A larger security force, cycling through positions will be more effective than a smaller force assigned to the same posts, day after day. If 50 people setting off the metal detector forget their keys, #51 probably did, too. Right?
After all, nothing happened yesterday. Complacency is the greatest friend of any criminal.
Anyway, these are just my ideas to prevent this kind of horror from happening again. Take 'em or leave 'em.
Slashdot Mirror
It seems to me that this could have been prevented by any number of simple precautions on the part of the airlines.
Hijackings have been a real threat for deecades, yet there has been little done to planes to make it difficult. security in airports has gone up, but once onboar, security is nearly non-existant.
How to be more secure without unduly troubling passengers?
-Isolate the cabin. On takeoff, the pilot, copilot and navigator are locked in. Remodel the plane a little so they have a micro-fridge and a toilet. Or, the pilots simply use a different door to enter the plane. If hijackers have to go through a bulkhead to reach the controls, they'll have a lot harder time of it.
-Prepare the crew. Train random (or volunteer) stedardess in armed and unarmed combat. Train and certify pilots the same way you would a security guard, and issue them a sidearm. Rather than being helpless victims, flight crews can be proactive.
-Plainclothes safety marshalls. Armed security personnel ride random flights providing for uncertainty in the minds of hijackers. Will this flight be easy? Or will it be "Passenger 57"?
-Pilot's Panic button/silent alarm. The pilot presses the button, starting a broadcast of black box info, audio/video cockpit monitors, and automatically switches control to a ground station. All this happens silently and instantly.
-And finally, more vigilant security at airports. A larger security force, cycling through positions will be more effective than a smaller force assigned to the same posts, day after day. If 50 people setting off the metal detector forget their keys, #51 probably did, too. Right?
After all, nothing happened yesterday. Complacency is the greatest friend of any criminal.
Anyway, these are just my ideas to prevent this kind of horror from happening again. Take 'em or leave 'em.