How can terrorists be prevented from using planes as bombs?

Moonbeam

Elite Member
Nov 24, 1999
73,796
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It seems that nothing is ever perfectly safe and every measure of safety we add has trade offs either in inconvenience money or a different set of risks, but with four planes in one day and this massive death toll, maybe we need to change some of the ways we do the business of flying.

I can't believe that US pilots were in control of those planes which, if true, means that one of the terrorist passengers were. Maybe it's time to figure a way to physically isolate and secure the cockpit from the passenger section of the plane before take off. It would be inconvenient for the crew in some ways I guess, and a doctor or another pilot in the passenger section couldn't act in some emergencies we could forsee, but short of explosives or a torch, it would stop this kind of nutcase takeovers.

I just don't want to see this again.
 

j0lly

Platinum Member
Jul 30, 2001
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Heightened secruity before and after takeoff is a must. Place a trained person who is capable of handling extraordinary situations on every flight.
 

dude

Diamond Member
Oct 16, 1999
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Make it illegal and put up a $500 dollar fine for committing the act.

Sorry, bad joke?
 

Looney

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
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There will always be means of causing terror. Whether it is bombs, plane crashes, U-Hauls full of explosives, poisoning of the water system, train derailments, random shootings on the streets, etc, etc. No way to stop the terrors themselves except to take out those who want to cause the terrors.

Reason why this was so successful and large is because the organization is so large. There should be a world order that international terrorism in ANY form is unacceptable and will be dealt with swiftly. Attack and eradicate them before they even get to 1/10 the size of Osama Bin Laden's group.

 

AaronP

Diamond Member
Feb 27, 2000
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armed guards on the planes

completely lock the pilots cabin off from the rest of the plane, so no matter what happens in the plane, no-one can get into the cockpit.

dress codes for flights, maybe t-shirt and clothes with no pockets

strict carry on rules and close examination of baggages.

tighter security around the ground crews
--

now, after the fact, these all seem like common sense, yet we really didnt do anything.

the calibur of people who work the metal detectors and x-rays needs to be raised quite a bit. A former FAA official said today that they are simple general laborers with little or even *NO* training and most would probably be flippin burgers otherwise!
 

jehh

Banned
Jan 16, 2001
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<< Make it illegal and put up a $500 dollar fine for committing the act.

Sorry, bad joke?
>>



Hahaha...

Yea, bad joke, but funny...

Make the doors to the cockpit truly secure?

Or, don't fly airplanes... :)

Jason
 

linuxboy

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
2,577
6
76
Moonbeam, you and I both know that putting a bandaid on the problem will not provide a longterm solution. When the bandaid gets wet, it will detach itself from the wound, exposing it to more bacterial infection...

The separation idea sounds good though...
Tighter security and access to the cockpit is also good.

Cheers ! :)
 

mattyrug

Golden Member
Sep 25, 2000
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<my 2 cents>
Why not follow some of the Security Tactics of the Isrealis?
Seriously, Isreali airlines have really tight security. I was never aware of this until my girlfriend told me. She flew all over Europe a few years ago, and told me about all the hold-ups in the Isreali Air security lines. I thought at the time when she told me this, good idea. She said it's EXTREMLY tight security. I also wasn't aware that they're the only Middle Eastern Airline that's allowed to fly in, and out of every country in Europe.
If anyone remembers (and I'm sure many of you do) a lot of the major US Airlines had Security Marshalls in the late 70's, and early 80's. They were trained to stop, and subdue, even kill if they had to, Hijackers and Airline Terrorists. If I remember my history correctly, they were successful in stopping a few attacks.
I think this fell by the wayside with your 'Band-Aid' theory. Good Analogy by the way.
</my 2 cents>
 

tgillitzr

Golden Member
Mar 10, 2000
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Seal the cockpit off, only way into the cockpit is if the plane is at a complete stop

Give the pilots a way to disable all passengers, some sort of gas

also put video cameras in the major parts of the plane so the pilots can see what is going on back there...
 

THELAIR

Golden Member
Oct 9, 1999
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wouldnt be surprised if manditory fingerprinting be used, and some sort of biometric security measures.

national identity card may be required as well... picture, fingerprint (dna sample), smart card chip etc... required to fly or use any sort of cross state transportation.

of course an equally secure database would be needed as well.
 

xyyz

Diamond Member
Sep 3, 2000
4,331
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Armed security personal on the plane... in a two fold manner...

1. plain-clothed security
2. a separate compartment for heavier security units

 

dawks

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
5,071
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tgillitzr, great idea.. exactly what I was thinking.


Make the cockpit on like a time lock... the only way in is to blow apart the plane, or wait for the lock to open..

Or put the lock with only one way of opening it, from the cockpit..
 

vegetation

Diamond Member
Feb 21, 2001
4,270
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Put a lot of security cams in all planes -- high quality ones, like they use in LV casinos, not those crappy ones at quicky marts. Transmit in real-time to a control center somewhere. It may not STOP an attack, but at least would quickly identify the culprits and bring along possible suspects faster.
 

Kcucumber

Senior member
Sep 8, 2001
639
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Yeah. We should get more Hi-Tech devices to scan everybody's face when they pass through the checkpoint
and store them in a database. Hey, we got 100 gigs of hdd space, why not put em' to good use.
 

kmmatney

Diamond Member
Jun 19, 2000
4,363
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Here's what I'd like to see:

1) A armed gaurd or 2 (preferably 2).
2) Better screening of passengers. Retinal scanning is extremely accurate and would be easy to implement. We need to know who is getting on each flight. Fake IDs are too easy to make. Retinal scanning would pinpoint exactly who the person is.
3) There was research into an alternative jet fuel a few years back. This fuel was much less flammable after impact. The initial exposion would have been the same, but the overall destuctive power would be greatly reduced.
4) Some way to automate a plane in a hostage situation. Not sure how this would work yet. If planes were completely automated, then hi-jacking would be a moot point, except for bombing the plane.

 

LAUST

Diamond Member
Sep 13, 2000
8,957
1
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<< double doors to the cockpit. only one can be open at a time. >>


That's the thing..have a door like on a submarine.. there is NO reason that door should EVER be able to be opened in flight. EVER, they should have their own bathroom and 3 guys up there, a pilot co pilot and radio/whatever else needs to be done, but NO ACCESS EVER
 

bozack

Diamond Member
Jan 14, 2000
7,913
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I totally agree with the Hightened security before and after boarding and wouldnt be against it on the plane, especially after what happened yesterday....

I dont know how "armed" I would want the guards on the plane to be, but I wouldnt object to swords :) or well trained martial artists (aka passenger 57) ...too much firepower and your blowing a hole in the plane and viola depressurization.

The locked cabin is also a good idea, providing you give the pilots some space suit type jobs so they can take a leak...

All I know is that something needs to be done, and something effective.

 

awanSky

Senior member
Jun 28, 2001
543
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Well, security guard in airplane is expensive and dangerous. Imagine bullets through sealed windows etc. My suggestions are
1. Better screening at the airport including ramp worker. if Israel can, we can too.
2. Install monitoring equipment or implement a new FAA rules that require pilot to contact ground/tower at all time. if pilot fails to do so, qround take control and autopilot and land at nearest airport.
3. Better training at ground/tower. When you see a change in flight destination and no contact what so ever from the pilot, you know something is wrong. 2+2=4....
 

Kazi

Senior member
Jun 7, 2001
637
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get smart, encase the cockpit with 2 inch steel, and 3 inch bullet-Proof glass, only opens when the landing gear is down! Make a built in metal detector into the door of the plane...
 

Stark

Diamond Member
Jun 16, 2000
7,735
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<< completely lock the pilots cabin off from the rest of the plane, so no matter what happens in the plane, no-one can get into the cockpit. >>


That's how to do it.

This will never again happen because of a few razor blades. Any group of passengers who are hijacked now will tear a small group of terrorists to shreds.
 
Feb 24, 2001
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well what happens if something goes wrong in the cockpit? what if the pilot is intent on crashing the plane, then there is nothing passengers could do about it. like said elsewhere, what if there is a medical emergency and the pilot passes out/has a heart attack, etc.