All sharp objects must be checked in with the baggage. Identification and a boarding pass are required just to get to the metal detectors. Metal knives for lunch are now in plastic. And the newest precaution? Bulletproof cockpit doors with a bar across it just in case.
Terrorist activities have led to heightened security both at the airports and on the planes, but sometimes these safety precautions are lacking in logic. What is the point of having a bulletproof door? So that if a terrorist is on board, s/he cannot kill the pilots, take over, and run it into the Sears Tower, of course. That’s wonderful, but how did the terrorist even get the gun on board in the first place? If the terrorists are so tricky that they can get guns on board, what prevents them from killing everyone on board but the pilots?
Absolutely nothing. Here’s the typical terrorist thought process:
Step 1: Terrorist has idea of hijacking plane
Step 2: Terrorist must get gun on board in order to hijack the plane
Step 3: Terrorist must be able to control the passengers using the gun on board in order to hijack the plane
Step 4: Terrorist must be able to either fly the plane or make the pilots fly the plane while controlling the passengers using the gun brought on board in order to hijack the plane
If the law enforcement fails in Step 1 by finding the terrorist and our educational institutions have failed in instilling the good into mankind, then we’re all already in a rut. If the terrorist manages to slip by airport security and bring a gun on board, then we’re in a hole. By the time the entire plane is under control, how is a bulletproof door with or without a bar across it, going to save the two hundred passengers on board? It’s not.
There is nothing wrong with taking all the necessary prevention measures. But maybe instead of worrying what to do when and if terrorist is on board, the aviation officials should be more concerned with making sure they dont get on board at all. Instead of trying to fix the problem halfway through, it should be addressed from its outset.
–JDS
