Obama Ends Armed Pilots Program

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2008
Obama Ends Armed Pilots Program
13
Sun, 03-22-2009 - 11:28pm

With no war on terror, and with no terrorists remaining in Gitmo, I guess there is no need for concern.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/mar/17/guns-on-a-plane-obama-secretly-ends-program-that-l/

After the September 11 attacks, commercial airline pilots were allowed to carry guns if they completed a federal-safety program. No longer would unarmed pilots be defenseless as remorseless hijackers seized control of aircraft and rammed them into buildings.

Now President Obama is quietly ending the federal firearms program, risking public safety on airlines in the name of an anti-gun ideology.

The Obama administration this past week diverted some $2 million from the pilot training program to hire more supervisory staff, who will engage in field inspections of pilots.

This looks like completely unnecessary harassment of the pilots. The 12,000 Federal Flight Deck Officers, the pilots who have been approved to carry guns, are reported to have the best behavior of any federal law enforcement agency. There are no cases where any of them has improperly brandished or used a gun. There are just a few cases where officers have improperly used their IDs.

Fewer than one percent of the officers have any administrative actions brought against them and, we are told, virtually all of those cases “are trumped up.”

Take a case against one flight officer who had visited the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles within the last few weeks. While there, the pilot noticed that federal law enforcement officers can, with the approval of a superior, obtain a license plate that cannot be traced, a key safety feature for law enforcement personnel. So the pilot asked if, as a member of the federal program, he was eligible. The DMV staffer checked and said “no.” The next day administrative actions were brought against the pilot for “misrepresenting himself.” These are the kinds of cases that President Obama wants to investigate.

Since Mr. Obama's election, pilots have told us that the approval process for letting pilots carry guns on planes slowed significantly. Last week the problem went from bad to worse. Federal Flight Deck Officers - the pilots who have been approved to carry guns - indicate that the approval process has stalled out.

Pilots cannot openly speak about the changing policies for fear of retaliation from the Transportation Security Administration. Pilots who act in any way that causes a “loss of confidence” in the armed pilot program risk criminal prosecution as well as their removal from the program. Despite these threats, pilots in the Federal Flight Deck Officers program have raised real concerns in multiple interviews.

Arming pilots after Sept. 11 was nothing new. Until the early 1960s, American commercial passenger pilots on any flight carrying U.S. mail were required to carry handguns. Indeed, U.S. pilots were still allowed to carry guns until as recently as 1987. There are no records that any of these pilots (either military or commercial) ever causing any significant problems.

Screening of airplane passengers is hardly perfect. While armed marshals are helpful, the program covers less than 3 percent of the flights out of Washington D.C.'s three airports and even fewer across the country. Sky marshals are costly and quit more often than other law-enforcement officers.

Armed pilots are a cost-effective backup layer of security. Terrorists can only enter the cockpit through one narrow entrance, and armed pilots have some time to prepare themselves as hijackers penetrate the strengthened cockpit doors. With pilots, we have people who are willing to take on the burden of protecting the planes for free. About 70 percent of the pilots at major American carriers have military backgrounds.

Frankly, as a matter of pure politics, we cannot understand what the administration is thinking. Nearly 40 House Democrats are in districts were the NRA is more popular than House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. We can't find any independent poll in which the public is demanding that pilots disarm. Why does this move make sense?

Only anti-gun extremists and terrorist recruits are worried about armed pilots. So why is the Obama administration catering to this tiny lobby at the expense of public safety?

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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-31-2005
Mon, 03-23-2009 - 8:04am

What is this world coming to?

 

Avatar for claddagh49
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-20-2004
Mon, 03-23-2009 - 9:03am

I don't agree with him doing this, I think we need to arm the pilots with a hand gun. There are waaay too many crazy people out there. I think security at airports need to be better also.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Mon, 03-23-2009 - 9:26am
Feds Deny Obama Will Take Guns Away from Pilots

Federal officials and the airline pilots union are denying a report that the Obama administration is seeking to end a program that trains pilots to carry guns in jetliner cockpits.



>"About 12,000 pilots have been authorized to carry handguns while flying aircraft as part of the Federal Flight Deck Officers (FFDO) program, and the Times article called the administration’s move “completely unnecessary harassment of the pilots.”


But Sterling Payne, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), told Fox News of the editorial: “It’s inaccurate. This program continues to grow. TSA continues to recruit and put new FFDOs on planes, and we continue to train them and do recurring training.”"<


>"The Airlines Pilots Association International, representing more than 52,000 pilots in the U.S. and Canada, issued a statement saying the Times story “couldn’t be further from the truth.”


Union representatives “met with TSA executives and were told in no uncertain terms that TSA embraces the FFDO program, that there are no plans to reduce or restrict its growth, and that in fact the agency fully intends to grow and expand the program,” according to the union statement.


“Government representatives acknowledged that the program needs additional funding to achieve these goals, and that they are actively seeking same.” "<


Complete article see link...


http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/pilot_gun_report_denied/2009/03/19/193742.html


Surprise, surprise

 


Photobucket&nbs

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Mon, 03-23-2009 - 9:31am
Opinion: Washington Times Gun Editorial Causes Panic in Right-Wing Crazy Town

http://chattahbox.com/us/2009/03/18/opinion-washington-times-gun-editorial-causes-panic-in-right-wing-crazy-town/


A Washington Times editorial in today’s paper, provocatively claims: “Obama secretly ends program that let pilots carry guns.” This editorial has the right wing Blogosphere all in a tizzy. The likes of NRA members, second Amendment groups, Sean Hannity fans, crazed conspiracy theorists and other assorted fringe-elements, came out from under their survival bunkers today, predicting an end to civilization, as we know it and a descent into communism, with Marxism and Socialism thrown in for good cause.


The fact is though, once you get past the glaring title, the editorial is pretty much devoid of any facts. Instead, it is filled with second and third hand reports from “unnamed flight officers,” claiming they are being “harassed” and receiving “threats” from the Transportation Security Administration for any criticism of the pilot gun approval process.


The rabidly conservative Washington Times, founded by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon, is not known for its journalistic ethics, to say the least. The editorial, breathlessly claiming some super-secret plan of President Obama’s goes on to conclude: “Obama is quietly ending the federal firearms program, risking public safety on airlines in the name of an anti-gun ideology.”


It bases this conclusion on the recent move by the Obama administration to use $2 million dollars from the pilot training program to hire additional supervisory staff, which will conduct field inspections of pilots. Holy smokes! A pilot training and field inspection program in the right-wing worldview, is apparently the same thing as a secret plan to ban guns on airplanes. Who knew?


The Times also reports that the pilot, gun approval process has “slowed significantly,” and horrors of horrors, apparently Federal Flight Deck Officers are suffering from “trumped up” administrative charges brought against them by the liberal Obama administration.


Additionally, it is said, Obama is pandering to “only anti-gun extremists and terrorist recruits,” by his secret plot to ban pilots from carrying guns on planes.


At least the over zealous second amendment gang can keep themselves busy today. Maybe do a little Spring-cleaning of their ammo bunkers. Get ready for some crazy-talk on an upcoming Glenn Beck program.




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Photobucket&nbs

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Mon, 03-23-2009 - 12:23pm

If people would just try & find out the facts before spreading mistruths....sigh...


Holy smokes! A pilot training and field inspection program in the right-wing worldview, is apparently the same thing as a secret plan to ban guns on airplanes. Who knew?


Hey, didn't you know that everything is a secret plan to ban guns?


iVillage Member
Registered: 03-03-2009
Mon, 03-23-2009 - 12:51pm

A high altitude showdown involving the flight crew sounds pretty scary to me.

At one time, there were federal marshals on flights. No longer the case. http://www.cnn.com/2008/TRAVEL/03/25/siu.air.marshals/index.html

Apparently, the cessation of flying marshals took place during the Bush administration--since comments to that link date from March 2008. No hooplah then. Kinda odd, no? Maybe while you're on the phone, you could call Bush, give him an earful too!

As regards Obama making the country less safe, I just picked myself up off the floor where I'd been rolling around in laughter. No militant saber rattling from Obama, no calling other nations "evil" and putting them on their defensive, no deadly (4,000+ graves for servicemen/women) wars of "pre-emption".......

Gee, what's the world coming to when a leader uses diplomacy and tact instead of posturing and arrogant aggression?!




Edited 3/23/2009 1:19 pm ET by jabberwocka

Jabberwocka

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-30-2002
Mon, 03-23-2009 - 1:27pm

***The fact is though, once you get past the glaring title, the editorial is pretty much devoid of any facts. Instead, it is filled with second and third hand reports from “unnamed flight officers,” claiming they are being “harassed” and receiving “threats” from the Transportation Security Administration for any criticism of the pilot gun approval process.***


Thanks for saying that. I read it so late last night (up with sick child) that I thought I was reading the Enquirer. You know how they refer to "an unnamed aquaintance" and such. I actually used to have some respect for the Conservative base but now they are making Libs look...well...moderate or at least capable of some critical thinking, instead of kneejerk reaction to red flag headlines. I'm starting to feel sorry for the folks in "Right Wing Crazy Town." They really need some psychological help. Paranoia of such an



Community Leader
Registered: 04-05-2002
Tue, 03-24-2009 - 7:44am
It really is scary how fast people jump at myths.





iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Wed, 03-25-2009 - 10:41am

"It really is scary how fast people jump at myths."

No kidding! War of the Worlds a good example of mass hysteria. Remember all those emails during the last Presidential election? I was amazed at supposedly intelligent people that forwarded them to me without question.

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Photobucket&nbs

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-23-2008
Thu, 03-26-2009 - 11:23am

You can't

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