Pilot's Gun Fires On US Airways Flight

[Kor37 9]

Pilot's Gun Fires on US Airways Flight

By GEORGE MERRITT,AP

Posted: 2008-03-25 09:49:44

Filed Under: Nation News

DENVER (March 25) - A gun belonging to the pilot of a US Airways plane went off as the aircraft was on approach to land in North Carolina over the weekend, the first time a weapon issued under a federal program to arm pilots was fired, authorities said.

 

The "accidental discharge" Saturday aboard Flight 1536 from Denver to Charlotte did not endanger the aircraft or the 124 passengers, two pilots and three flight attendants aboard, said Greg Alter of the Federal Air Marshal Service on Monday.

 

"We know that there was never any danger to the aircraft or to the occupants on board," Alter said.

 

It is the first time a pilot's weapon has been fired on a plane under a program created after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to allow pilots and others to use a firearm to defend against any act of air piracy or criminal violence, he said.

 

The Transportation Security Administration is investigating how the gun discharged and is being assisted by the Air Marshal Service, Alter said. Officials did not say where the bullet hit.

 

The service declined to release additional details.

 

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Mike Fergus said his agency is also investigating to make sure that the plane is safe. The Airbus A319 has been removed from service, the airline said.

 

The TSA initially opposed the Flight Deck Officer program to arm and train cockpit personnel. Agency officials worried that introducing a weapon to commercial flights was dangerous and that other security improvements made it unnecessary. Congress and pilots backed the program.

 

"The TSA has never been real supportive of this program," said Mike Boyd, who runs the Colorado-based aviation consulting firm The Boyd Group. "It's something I think Congress kind of put on them."

 

Pilots must volunteer, take a psychological test and complete a weeklong firearms training program run by the government to keep a gun in the cockpit.

 

Boyd said he supports the program to arm pilots, saying, "if somebody who has the ability to fly a 747 across the Pacific wants a gun, you give it to them." But he said Saturday's incident could have been much worse.

 

"If that bullet had compromised the shell of the airplane, i.e., gone through a window, the airplane could have gone down," he said.

 

 

In order for this gun to go off, the pilot would have had to remove it from its holder and unhook the safety. THIS is what the pilot was doing while the plane was on final approach?...... :( :ooh32:

[ussvwbeetle 0]

Why did he have his weapon out of his holster? Especially in a plane!! What an idiot. It must have been quite a sound from the passangers point of view.

[Kor37 9]

It must have been quite a sound from the passangers point of view.

I'm pretty sure that all the passengers heard was a really loud......"DOH!"....... :(

[TJ Phaserman 2]

wait....i thought the only ones with guns on a plane were the air marshalls

[MrPsychic 1]

wait....i thought the only ones with guns on a plane were the air marshalls

No, as stated in the article, pilots can be armed if they pass special training. Makes sense, what if the air marshals are spotted by the terrorists and taken out first. The pilots can defend their post.

[TJ Phaserman 2]

good point