Earlier in the week, Transportation Security Administration director John W. Magaw told the Senate that it is more important to keep pilots focused on flying their planes and that other steps are being taken to protect them.
Magaw said he is still considering proposals to let pilots and crew members carry nonlethal weapons such as stun guns or collapsible metal batons.
Members of Congress immediately vowed to fight the agency's decision with legislation permitting guns in cockpits.
Invoking the doomed pilots who were overpowered by hijackers on Sept. 11, Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) asked Magaw: "If they had firearms, if they had a pistol to defend themselves or their plane, would that have made a difference?"
"Well, it may have, but that's a lot different today than it was then," Magaw told the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.
Cockpit doors are reinforced now and remain closed to stop intruders, Magaw said. Pilots are told to keep control of their planes even if it means letting passengers and crew members be threatened by terrorists. The government is hiring and training hundreds more armed air marshals to protect the cabin.
The marshals "will do whatever they have to, to the point of giving up their own life, to make sure that that cockpit stays safe. Now, the cockpit in the aircraft is for the pilots to maintain positive control of that aircraft," Magaw said.
Duane E. Woerth, president of the 62,000-member Air Line Pilots Association, noted that the government's plan calls for Air Force fighter jets to shoot down any passenger plane that comes under terrorist control.
"In the face of such choices, we do not understand why these same government officials refuse to give pilots a last chance to prevent such a tragedy," Woerth said.
David S. Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association, a passenger advocacy group, criticized Magaw's decision. He noted that even reinforced cockpit doors are not impenetrable and that pilots still open them for trips to the lavatory. "Until we can ensure that hijackers . . . cannot get into the cockpit, there must be some lethal force to prevent them from commandeering the aircraft and doing massive damage with a huge loss of life," Stempler said.
The airline industry has lobbied against firearms, and yesterday an industry official welcomed Magaw's decision, noting that guns could pose unintended dangers to passengers and crew.
Flight attendants have also opposed arming pilots unless they, too, get some type of weapon. Dawn Deeks, spokeswoman for the Association of Flight Attendants, said it was good news that Magaw had resisted the pilots' demands. "A gun in the cockpit is a false sense of security for the rest of the plane," Deeks said.
But she said that Congress could yet reverse him. "I know the pilots have been very busy up on Capitol Hill with this issue," she said.
Bills to arm pilots are making their way through both houses of Congress, and yesterday Rep. John L. Mica (R-Fla.), said he hopes to get his measure through a subcommittee on Thursday. Mica's bill, co-sponsored by Transportation Committee Chairman Don Young (R-Alaska), would allow pilots to carry guns if they pass voluntary firearms training.
"This is not something the Congress has requested. Tens of thousands of pilots and tens of thousands of their families have requested that they have this last line of defense," Mica said.
He added that he also favors guns for pilots because the TSA seems to be mired in delays as it seeks to restructure the aviation security system. The hiring of thousands of federal passenger screeners, for instance, has faced logistical problems and could shut down by the end of this month if Congress fails to approve an emergency budget request.
The House Appropriations Committee is poised to cut the TSA's request for $4.4 billion in emergency funding by $400 million and to limit the agency to 45,000 employees instead of the 67,000 it says it needs. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta complained yesterday to the Senate panel that such cuts would lead to "long lines and flight delays" at U.S. airports.
Mineta, who has said previously that he is personally opposed to putting weapons aboard planes, did not address the topic yesterday. A transportation official said later that the White House "is aware of our position."
Magaw said he will stand by his decision but if Congress overrides him, "that is their prerogative."
Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Ernest F. Hollings (D-S.C.) complained about the whole notion of putting weapons on planes. "I guess we're going to give the passengers machetes and let 'em fight it out," he said.
