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Pilots' rules changing for hijackings



From Jeanne Meserve
CNN Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- For pilots, the rule of the thumb in hijackings has always been to be passive, be cooperative, and get on the ground and into negotiations.

On September 11, the rules changed instantaneously.

"My copilot and I looked at each other and said, basically, 'You want to fly or fight?' said pilot Paul Emens, who was in the air. "And he had his big steel flashlight, and if anybody came through the door he was going to go after them, and I was going to get the aircraft on the ground."

According to the Air Line Pilots Association, pilots and flight attendants, the airlines, the Federal Aviation Administration and law enforcement are engaged in an unprecedented cooperative effort to improve aircraft security, quickly.

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"We are at war, and we are treating it that way," said Capt. Duane Woerth, president of the Air Line Pilots Association. "Everyone is cutting through the red tape and making decisions."

Among the changes being considered on an expedited basis are whether to provide law enforcement escorts, whether to arm pilots with weapons, and how to modify equipment -- like the cockpit door -- so it is a more effective barrier.

"This new door that we want, I expect by Friday," Woerth said. "I want a certification process approved by the FAA and the manufacturer and ALPA, and I believe we can have that, and are on our way to getting that door."

Some airlines have told their pilots to do what they must to save themselves, their aircraft and their passengers.

Emens says if his plane is under threat, passengers better hold on.

"You should be wearing a seat belt," he said of passengers. "We can start to maneuver that aircraft so that he cannot function. Depressurize? We can depressurize the aircraft. We can throw it around the sky. We can do all sorts of things and he won't be walking when it is over."

Despite the financial distress of the airline industry, pilots say no security measure is off the table, no matter what the cost.

But some aviation watchdogs are critical. The problems and the solutions were known long ago, they say, questioning why we're seeing corrections so late.






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