Pilots demand the right to carry guns in plane cockpits

Airline pilots could be armed with handguns as part of proposals being considered by Congress in the aftermath of the attacks on America.

The Air Line Pilots Association wants the FBI to train pilots in the use of firearms that could be used in emergencies. The Federal Aviation Authority's guidelines currently prohibit pilots carrying such weapons.

The union's spokesman said: "This is a reflection on how much the attack on 11 September has changed everything we thought about hijackings and terrorism.

"Under the old model of hijackings, the system worked well. That strategy was to accommodate, negotiate and do not escalate. But that was before. The cockpit has to be defended at all costs.''

Yesterday, Captain Duane Woerth, the union's president, gave evidence before the House Transportation aviation sub-committee. Earlier, asked on ABC's Good Morning America' about fears that a bullet could penetrate a plane's walls and depressurise it, he said the bullets supplied to pilots would "come apart at first impact".

He added: "They're very destructive to human tissue but it's very unlikely that would do any serious damage to the fuselage and not such that would cause a depressurisation problem.'' The union plans a voluntary programme that would require extensive background screening and psychological testing of pilots. Pilots would receive classroom and practical training in firearms use, equivalent to sky marshal training.

Michael Boyd, an aviation consultant, said arming pilots could be workable. "These men and women operate $100m pieces of equipment.

"They can sure learn to operate a .38 snub-nose if they want to,'' he said.

"I'd rather have the gun in the hand of the pilot than the gun in the hand of some guy who wants to kill people.''

The union has urged pilots to adopt a more aggressive approach in terrorist incidents. For example, all cockpits are equipped with a crash axe and the union has advised members they should consider using it as a weapon in a hijacking.

"The pilot must be prepared to kill a cockpit intruder,'' say union guidelines that were revised after the attacks.

The union is also investigating ways of securing plane cockpit doors to protect the flight crew against potential attacks from passengers.