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NOV 16, 2001

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United
wants to
give pilots
stunguns
Airline faces FAA
showdown to get
plan approved
, By Marilyn Adams
USA TODAY

United Airlines wants to equip
all its cockpits with stun guns that
pilots could use to repel attackers
- if it gets government approval.
A compromise aviation security
bill approved by Congress Thursday allows weapons in the cockpit.
It needs President Bush's signature
to become law.
United's plan to become the first

major us. airline with armed pilots

sets up a showdown with the Federal Aviation Administration,
which opposes any guns on board.
"(United's plan) isn't permitted under our regulations," FAA spokes-

man Paul Thrk says. FAA chiefJane
Garvey "has said she sees no rea~
son to change the regulation."
House ltansportation Committee Chairman Don Young, R-Alaska,
said Thursday that the security bill
agreed to by a House and Senate
conference committee allows pilots "their choice of weapons. If I
had my way, they'd all carry .22s.~

How stun gun
works, 28
~ Airport security,
SA,38
~

u.s. airlines already have forti-

fied cockpit doors against the type
of forceful intrusion that terrorists
must have used to hijack four
flights Sept. 11. Longer-range plans
call for new cockpit doors that will
be impenetrable. But pilots want
weapons, and flight attendants demanded tr~ining for dealing with
attackers in the cabin.
United said Thursday that it will
soon start training flight attendants to ~protect themselves, enhance cabin security and assist
customers." United spokesman
Andy Plews says the program will
:_be ~much more than self-defense"
but declined to provide details.
"Right now, we are alone with no
training to defend the cabin and
our customers," says Jeff lack, a
spokesman for the Association of
Fliy,ht Attendants. 'This program is
about the security of the whole
airplane," Plews says. "We think
we'll get FAA approval."
United plans to buy~ced
Thsers by Taser Inteniationarof
Scottsdafe, Ariz, It's the same stun
gun used by more than 900 law
enforcement and corrections
agencies in the USA, Europe and
Canada, says laser President Tom
Smith. American ltans Air, British
Airways and Mesa also have expressed interest he says.
FAA officials worry that pilots
would have to leave the cockpit to
use the weapons unless an assailant broke through the cockpit
door. They also worry that stun
guns could be turned against the
crew. United says the guns would
be kept in lockboxes in cockpits.
'This is a good first step," says
Herb Hunter of United's pilots
union. "We need some kind of defensive system for the cockpit, and
a stun gun does qualify."

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UlUlf'RESS CLIPPINGS

United wants stun guns for pilots
United Airlines wants to PU~AdVasers in the cockpits onts planes as
an added security measure'
government approval. The Tasers would
be kept in electronically qlded ockboxes. (Story, 18)
How the Advanced T.uerworks
The stUn gun shocks an assailant's nelVQus system. knocking him to
the ground and incapacitating him.

Shod<
When the probes hit the
assailant, the Taser sends a
powerful shock through wires
and into the assailant's body.
The shock can penetrate 2
inches of clothing.
Some", T..., 'n"'matlonal

By Il.obeltW. Ah"'M.lISA TODoO.V