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| Transportation Security Agency's Double Standard with Armed Pilots |
| Joe Lolli April 24, 2003 What happens when popular demand, via congressional edict, forces a government agency to do what it doesn't want to do? Aside from dragging their feet, they create the illusion of complying with the new regulation, that's what happens! The new Transportation Security Agency, the government entity charged with the responsibility of regulating armed airline pilots, has apparently created a training and screening system that uses a double standard in who and who isn't allowed to carry a firearm while piloting a commercial airliner. According to a press release by the Airline Pilots Security Alliance, 9% of the first TSA graduating class failed to pass their scrutiny. "Four out of the 48 were eliminated before graduation, not because of failure to pass the shooting, or other practical portions of the class, but because of the psychological testing and questions to their managements about their fitness for the program given during the background checks" says APSA. "The two pilots eliminated by the background checks were both very vocal armed-cockpit supporters. Apparently their (corporate) managements did not want either of these pilots to be able to participate in the program. One has a civilian background with no history of scrapes with the law, no history of discipline problems at his airline, doesn't drink, and hasn't had a traffic ticket in over 12 years. The other is a former military pilot with a top secret clearance who also has a very clean record." According to the memo, two others were eliminated because of the psychological testing that was given during the program. One of the pilots is a former Customs/DEA agent who carried a firearm in this capacity for ten years and was still working part time as a law enforcement officer. Apparently the TSA feels that this pilot is a risk and removed him from the program. The other pilot was hand picked by ALPA to participate and is a part time local law enforcement officer. The TSA also removed him for apparently psychological reasons. Remember, all four of these pilots probably have over 50 years of combined airline experience, yet the TSA says they are not qualified to protect their cockpits with firearms. This is amazing considering the present procedure that allows almost any federal law enforcement officer to travel armed in the cabins of our airplanes. We all know that the level of screening for these people doesn't even come close to the screening required to be in command of a commercial airliner. "Why the double standard?" asks APSA. Obviously, the federal agency in charge of airline security feels that a former DEA agent is "not qualified" to carry while flying a commercial aircraft. Strange, as a federal DEA agent, that same person would have been allowed to carry a gun while being a passenger on a commercial aircraft. Maybe the real reason is that TSA would rather maintain its federal monopoly on protecting us. Maybe providing certification for armed pilots, in the same way 33 states now screen armed law abiding citizens for their state's concealed weapons permits (CWP), would provide such a deterrent that the TSA's multi-billion dollar Air Marshal Program would no longer be necessary and could be placed in jeopardy. Before 1986, any pilot that cared to do so could carry a firearm with them while piloting a commercial aircraft. In fact, if there was any U.S. Mail onboard the plane, the pilots were REQURED to have a gun with them! Our government is now taxing us more than $30 Billion (the amount President Bush wants in tax cuts) each year to provide us with airline protection and security. a cost that most of us could provide for ourselves by simply allowing honest people to uphold that portion of our Bill of Rights that denies the government mandated 'terrorist safety zone' that Mohammad Attah enjoyed when he and his Al Qaeda pals boarded those four airliners. But these tens of thousands of new TSA employees now have their jobs and their new bureaucracy to protect. So it's not in their best interest to allow alternatives to threaten their monopoly on protecting us. |
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