US Pilots could carry guns in the cockpit to defend their planes against terrorists under a bill the House passed overwhelmingly Wednesday despite opposition from the White House and airlines.
The legislation, approved by a vote of 310-113, would allow guns for more than 70,000 pilots if they agreed to undergo training. Lawmakers stripped out provisions that would have limited the program to some 1,400 pilots, about 2 percent of those flying.
Despite the strong House support, prospects in the Senate were not good for the legislation. Besides the White House, those opposing it include Ernest Hollings, a South Carolina Democrat who heads the Senate Commerce Committee.
The guns-in-cockpits question is among a host of aviation security issues that arose after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. In this case, House GOP leaders have been at odds with the Bush administration, which has repeatedly argued that cockpit crews should focus on flying planes and let air marshals worry about security.
"We believe that aviation security has been improved in several ways, including strengthened cockpit doors and additional federal air marshals on airlines," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said after the vote. "It is not necessary to arm pilots. Their primary responsibility is to fly the airplane."
Though Republican and Democratic leaders of the House Transportation Committee agreed to arm only a fraction of the pilots, rank-and-file lawmakers voted to expand the program to any pilot who volunteers.
"If there is a credible threat that requires arming pilots, why would you restrict yourself?" said an amendment sponsor, Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore. "Having that minuscule number of pilots trained and armed would not make any sense. If the pilots should be armed, there should be some significant number."
The measure also would require more self-defense training for flight attendants and give the Transportation Security Administration 90 days to act on an airline's request to equip pilots with non-lethal weapons such as stun guns.
"Today, armed F-16s are prepared to shoot down any commercial jet that is hijacked by terrorists," said Transportation Committee chairman Don Young, R-Alaska. "It is imperative that under these new circumstances, we must allow trained and qualified pilots to serve as the last line of defense against such a potential disaster."
The training requirement led the Association of Flight Attendants to support the final bill, spokesman Jeff Zack said. The union had opposed earlier versions.
Pilot unions have lobbied for the right to carry guns, but the airline industry has opposed the idea, saying stronger cockpit doors and the presence of air marshals provide protection against hijackings.
The industry also is concerned about what would happen if a passenger or crew member was hit by an errant bullet, or what kind of damage could be done to the airplane and its systems, said Michael Wascom, a spokesman for the Air Transport Association.
TSA head John Magaw, who announced the administration's position against guns in cockpits, has said that a pilot should give undivided attention to flying his plane, landing it as quickly as possible and conducting in-flight maneuvers to keep hijackers off balance.
Rep. John Mica, chairman of the House aviation subcommittee, dismissed the administration's objections.
"Bureaucrats set the rules. We set the policy and the laws," said Mica, R-Fla.
Pilot unions said their members needed the guns to prevent terrorists from breaking into cockpits and commandeering airplanes, as happened last September.
"Voluntary arming of airline pilots is another necessary layer in our overall efforts to provide a robust and effective defense against terrorism," said Capt. Duane Woerth, president of the Air Line Pilots Association.
That association has contributed US$764,000 to federal candidates since Jan. 1, 2001. That's more in donations than was given to candidates by any individual airline, with 85 percent of the money going to Democrats, many of whom joined the majority House Republicans in supporting the legislation.
(China Daily July 11, 2002)
