bullrushing a cockpit might get you IN but you probably won't get "pushed
back" and there is no where to go except forward (FEW aircraft can "back
up") into the terminal (ala the Continental MD a couple of years ago at EWR)

"Stan-Fan" wrote in message
...
Agree with Casey. Although there are tremendous numbers of our citizens
out there who carry firearms, and hold concealed weapons permits, the
great majority are not trained to use them.

I don't care how many have them. And, even though many people have been
trained to use the darn things, most people would be helpless even
armed, when confronted by criminals and terrorists, mainly because
citizens don't live their lives at a highly intense state of self
awareness for their personal safety (check the cellphone users speeding
and weaving on the freeways all over the country).

Advantage is always with the criminals and terrorists because they plan,
and strike by surprise. Even highly trained law enforcement officers get
blown away walking into tense domestic situations, or simple nightime
traffic stops because they are not paying attention to their safety at
that high level of awareness their training demands. We lose about
30-officers a year this way across the country.

Having the pilots, locked in the cabin at 39,000, armed, and only
prepared to use the gun if a breach of the cockpit is happening doesn't
bother me - neither does arming the flight attendants with electronic
"stun" or "zapper" guns. The guy way back in row 35 seat A of a 767
trying to shoot a hijacker or terrorist the length of the plane, now
that would worry the hell out of me up there.

However, my personal opinion of TSA, is that although they do an
adequate job, it isn't much more effective than the job that was done
prior to September 11th. Boxcutters, knives, loaded guns, etc., still
get through regularly, and their interpersonal skills are
confrontational at best, putting more passengers in fear of approaching
them, than is necessary, even though the passengers have nothing to
hide.

Pilots and flight attendants familiar to the TSA screeners, although
they are not supposed to, still get passed around the secure areas
without screening, it is pretty simple to order a custom made
Delta-United-Southwest-America flight attendants, or crew uniform and
walk aboard in a group without showing the TSA people ID's, which their
rarely check. If law enforcement officers get shot on routine missions,
and they should be aware, does anybody really expect a TSA screener to
be so vigilant when faced with the common, everyday sight of a two
people in pilot uniforms, or a group in flight attendant uniforms coming
at them?

Those ancillary people necessary on the ground to move the planes
around, fuel them, and cater them, are not checked regularly. The most
common security breach located on TSA testing is the door from the
ground to the jetway, way past security screening stations.

And, my personal observation - that almost any passenger could hijack
any airliner whenever they want to, simply by "bullrushing" the cockpit
when walking aboard the aircraft from the jetway. Majority of the time,
the pilot and co-pilot are sitting in there with the door open, their
backs to the passengers, going through their checklist, and only a
flight attendant is standing at the front to get by. This phenomena I
have observed on almost every single aircraft of the major carriers and
the cut-rate ones, with the exception of a Boeing 747.