Sun, Sep 16, 2001 page7

• World: US pilots told to get aggressive with hijackers

  FORCEFUL APPROACH Israeli officials claim that the tactics used by their national airline probably would have been effective in stopping the hijackers

  • THE GUARDIAN
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  American pilots have been ordered by their leaders to adopt aggressive action to combat "suicidal hijackers," even to the extent of wielding an axe or using stun guns.

  The Air Line Pilots' Association (ALPA) on Friday issued a new instruction to its members which, in effect, revokes rules that have been used in the industry for 30 years.

  Steve Luckley, chairman of ALPA's national security committee, said it was pushing to fortify cockpit doors, and was likely to advocate some sort of weaponry in the cockpit, "firearms, stun guns, whatever is necessary."

  ALPA's instruction says: "The pilot must be both mentally and physically prepared to take the life of a cockpit intruder" or the axe could be used against the crew.

  The attitude of American pilots suggests that the rules, which were introduced by the Federal Aviation Administration after a wave of hijackings in the late 1960s and early 1970s, will have to be changed.

  The flight manual of one big US carrier says: "If the hijacker enters the cockpit, remain calm and make every effort to cooperate with the hijacker." These rules made sense in an era when hijackers demanded money or held hostages for political purposes. But to many American pilots, they seem horribly outdated when terrorists bent on suicide want to use a passenger jet as a guided bomb.

  Luckey said: "It is no longer applicable in terms of the new threat. Now if we lose a cockpit, all is lost."

  Airlines instruct their pilots not to reveal the rules, but much of the information is contained in public documents provided to pilots during training. This week's hijackers would almost certainly have been familiar with the manual urging co-operation.

  The American authorities will also face increasing demands for a strengthening of cockpit doors.

  During the past few years, pilots have had to deal with drunk passengers who have kicked holes in the doors. By law they are designed to be broken relatively easily so that pilots can escape from the cockpit in an accident.

  But now pilots see the doors as their last line of defense, and they say they must be toughened to protect flight crews. "We're advocating some retrofit stuff -- bolts and whatever it'll take -- to fortify that cockpit door," said Luckey.

  Duane Woerth, ALPA's president, said that pilots were not willing to wait years for changes. He is to meet the FAA as a matter of urgency to discuss the issue.

  Modifications to airline cabins have been opposed in the past mainly by the airlines because the added weight would require more fuel and more costs for carriers.

  Pilots also believe that new FAA guidelines to stop passengers from carrying knives "of any length" but permit "rounded blade butter knives and plastic knives for meal service" are inadequate.

  Senior Israeli defense experts claimed yesterday that the stringent and sophisticated measures used by El Al, the country's national airline, might have frustrated this week's terrorist attacks in the US.

  Each El Al flight carries an armed marshal, and its pilots are locked in a reinforced cabin. Passengers are required to answer a stream of questions before they can board.

  Shlomo Gazir, a former Israeli intelligence chief, said: "By looking into the eyes of a person, you see whether he is anxious or is an innocent passenger. There is no 100 percent in security, but at least you can make it very hard for the terrorists."

  European transport ministers are to strengthen safety guidelines which could lead to cockpit doors being locked.

  Stephen Byers, transport secretary, said after a meeting in Brussels yesterday: "All of our analysis and preparation have been based on the view that terrorists would want to preserve their own lives. Now we know that is not the case. The suicide pilot means that we have to review our security."

  US airports have only reopened to American carriers operating non-stop international flights from high-security foreign airports.
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