The Student Room Group

Scroll to see replies

I do now :afraid:

Spoiler



Well firearms is a bad choice of weapon for an aircraft anyway, simply because of the amount of people and the amount a damage a bullet could do. I mean even all the training in the world is going to lead to mistakes occasionally. Completely aside from the political aspect, it's a bad choice of weapon. Perhaps something like a taser may be more appropriate. But even then you have to deal with the laws of every country with an airport as they have different laws regarding weapons.
Original post by hezzlington
There is NO situation in which a handgun can be appropriately and safely used in an aircraft by cabin crew.


How would you know? What if the terrorist was threatening to blow up the entire plane? Surely the use of a weapon could be justified then?
Well to make aviation safer, you first need to understand and acknowledge the biggest outstanding safety concerns. The two biggest threats to aviation safety today in my opinion, are

-> 1) Terrorism/Deliberate acts of terror
-> 2) Pilot Fatigue

How can we make aviation safer then? Well in my opinion, better security with better CCTV monitoring, and tightening regulations in the aviation industry that limit the amount of time a pilot can work in shifts even more. As it stands now, a large number of airlines, even the most lucrative such as that of Emirates reprimand and sanction pilots for even complaining of tiredness or an inability to work due to health reasons.
Justified, yes. Appropriate and safe? No.

Attempting to use a firearm on a plane at altitude is a bad idea. What about turbulence? What if a passenger is hit and killed? Who holds the handgun(s)? How many handguns? How much ammunition? What if the pilot/cabin crew member IS the terrorist, like you said you can never tell. They now have access to a weapon.
Original post by GwynLordOfCinder
I do now :afraid:

Spoiler


Well firearms is a bad choice of weapon for an aircraft anyway, simply because of the amount of people and the amount a damage a bullet could do. I mean even all the training in the world is going to lead to mistakes occasionally. Completely aside from the political aspect, it's a bad choice of weapon. Perhaps something like a taser may be more appropriate. But even then you have to deal with the laws of every country with an airport as they have different laws regarding weapons.


Okay so maybe not a handgun then, but surely something more powerful than a damn human fist that could be used? Like you said maybe a tazer or one of those guns that fires sedatives or something. As for legality surely this is something all countries of the world should be working to prevent in any case?
I dunno, shooting a tazer/firearm at somebody who potentially may be strapped up to the chin with explosives?


What about a nerve gas that like...secretly emits that makes everybody pass out. The co pilot (who will be locked up in the cockpit and therefore not exposed to the gas) can then come out with a gas mask and like handcuff the terrorists :colone:

Stupid idea obviously but I'm just procrastinating.

..back to revision...
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by hezzlington
Justified, yes. Appropriate and safe? No.

Attempting to use a firearm on a plane at altitude is a bad idea. What about turbulence? What if a passenger is hit and killed? Who holds the handgun(s)? How many handguns? How much ammunition? What if the pilot/cabin crew member IS the terrorist, like you said you can never tell. They now have access to a weapon.


Okay so maybe not handguns then but maybe something like a taser or a tranquiliser gun?
A taser might set off an explosion, either through the spasming it induces in the person or the current. A tranquilliser gun however, if such a tranquilliser is able to be weaponised to instantly knock them out I definitely think they should consider using them.
But there'd have to be very, very strict protective measures to ensure the terrorists couldn't get their hands on them. I think you'd need to introduce security guards onto the plane alongside it.
Original post by hezzlington
I dunno, shooting a tazer/firearm at somebody who potentially may be strapped up to the chin with explosives?


What about a nerve gas that like...secretly emits that makes everybody pass out. The co pilot (who will be locked up in the cockpit and therefore not exposed to the gas) can then come out with a gas mask and like handcuff the terrorists :colone:

Stupid idea obviously but I'm just procrastinating.

..back to revision...


That's a terrible idea, how would you get rid of the nerve gas after it's been deployed if you were at high altitude and opening the doors is impossible?

Seeing as nobody has come up with anything better than a tazer or tranquiliser gun I guess this is going to be a problem for a while
Airlines & airports have to find a balance between security & convenience which isn't easy.
Airport security is a heck of a lot stricter since 9/11 but as I've said in another thread; anything that has a human in the process has a weakness. I do have genuine sympathy for airport security workers they're usually not particularly well paid, work long hours & have a lot of pressure of them to ensure security is enforced while having to be speedy. This process has been & is constantly being refined & tested. We all know how important security is but no one likes queuing for hours & this does affect airport's & airline's profits.
I certainly wouldn't call myself an expert but I've done several courses on airport security which was quite enlightening.
Personally I'm not sure I particularly like the idea of armed personnel on aircraft. As others have mentioned, bullets don't discriminate between your target & the aircraft's shell. You've also got to ensure your personnel are well trained, constantly alert & are not a security risk themselves. If they gave Marshalls less destructive weaponry like tasers I'd be more in favour.
There's actually a few private companies like Northrop Grumman developing laser based countermeasures for aircraft that jam missiles. Currently they're only available on military aircraft but technology like LAIRCM (Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures) could be potentially used on airliners in the future. I know Israel has experimented with using flares in airliners after an aircraft was shot down in 2003 in Kenya. However, flares are controversial as they pose a fire risk. I'm pretty sure most European & FAA airports don't allow them for this reason.
LAIRCM uses a laser to deceive Infra-red missiles & therefore shouldn't have the same issue. In fact the FAA has already allowed its own aircraft to be fitted with the system. I don't know how effective LAIRCM is & I don't know if any real world use of it yet but it could be promising. The US military have ordered LAIRCM & its variants for some of its aircraft & helicopters & I know some RAF aircraft have it too. As far as I'm aware LAIRCM would be useless against a radar guided missing like the one used over Ukraine & I'm not sure how it would hold up against the latest generation of IR missiles like the AIM -9X & AIM-132 which are both designed to ignore countermeasures (from what I gather they're very difficult to shake off). However against handheld missile launchers (MANPADs) your average terrorist has it should be ideal.
@FrenchUnicorn
#TO3567

Delayed. Prague to Orly...

NOT GOOD
What about if all passengers are tranquilised before the flight?
Flying is really safe. But to stop hijacks or pilots deliberately crashing them, we could make them into remotely controlled drones. But that brings other problems, as they could technically be hacked.
Original post by homeland.lsw
@FrenchUnicorn
#TO3567

Delayed. Prague to Orly...

NOT GOOD

:lol: btw It was because of a national stroke in France :/
Anyway to answer the question I suggest people to have a fellow like you to stalk them :colone:
Original post by FrenchUnicorn
:lol: btw It was because of a national stroke in France :/
Anyway to answer the question I suggest people to have a fellow like you to stalk them :colone:


Damn, sounds like it's time to get back round to claiming France if everybody had a stroke

Posted from TSR Mobile
Give some of the control back to humans, perhaps? The Autopilot is vital, but what the plane tells people when something goes wrong should at least be understandable. Airbus seems to be going down the route of designing the captain out of the cockpit.
Original post by FrenchUnicorn
:lol: btw It was because of a national stroke in France :/
Anyway to answer the question I suggest people to have a fellow like you to stalk them :colone:


What were they stroking? I hope they all sat down for a cup of tea and a croissant and stroked the fur of a cat or something like that.

Original post by GwynLordOfCinder
I do now :afraid:

Spoiler

Well firearms is a bad choice of weapon for an aircraft anyway, simply because of the amount of people and the amount a damage a bullet could do. I mean even all the training in the world is going to lead to mistakes occasionally. Completely aside from the political aspect, it's a bad choice of weapon. Perhaps something like a taser may be more appropriate. But even then you have to deal with the laws of every country with an airport as they have different laws regarding weapons.
I believe that Air Marshals in America carry a loaded firearm. They were brought onto planes in the USA after 9/11.
(edited 7 years ago)
I have this crazy idea that they should give everyone parachutes, so say if the plane lost control and is falling out of the sky or something- everyone can just jump out. And they can wear life jackets to keep them afloat when they land in the water. It's crazy but wouldn't it save lives or work even?
(edited 7 years ago)
The air inside the cabin is recycled.
Reply 39
1. Train pilots better.

2. Make sure pilots aren't overworked.

3. Enforce proper maintenance.

Latest