John McCain believed that the terrorists had trained pilots among their number -- makes sense, an American pilot might've chosen to crash their plane instead of using it as a bomb -- so we're talking probably two or three per plane ...
Posted by G.K Nimrod (Member # 205) on :
maybe an american pilot made that decision in pittsburgh.
Posted by MeGotBeer (Member # 411) on :
Good point.
Posted by G.K Nimrod (Member # 205) on :
it doesn't take much to make those big planes stall, he could've just pulled a big lever and hung on it for as long as he could
Posted by Veers (Member # 661) on :
An inside man? A pilot. John Nance said on ABC news that the 757 and 767 are aircraft that can be piloted by a pilot who has trained on one of the two. Let me clarify: If you can fly one of them, you can fly the other with little training.
Posted by MeGotBeer (Member # 411) on :
He'd still need help restraining the other crewmembers.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
Couldn't the terroists have acted like normal terroists at first?
"Take this plane to New York or I start shooting people"?
Then, when they got near their target, they could have shot the pilot and took over. Some reports have said that if all you need to do is point the plane at a target, and fly into it, most people could do it, even if they were untrained.
Posted by Obese Penguin (Member # 271) on :
CBS reported that "knife like devices" were used according to a source.
My guess is they used Ceramic Knives or perhaps they had crafted some time of crude put together fire arm and found someway to smuggle the parts aboard then put them together.
I really doubt that they revealed their plans to the pilot and crew, they probley just said "hey ,give me the plane or I start to pull triggers or poke people"
Odds are the reports of flight experiance among the hijackers are correct , with the resources these groups have I'm sure they had some kind of training.
Posted by USS Vanguard (Member # 130) on :
How the fuck do they know what weapons these guys used, pardon my french? Just a rhetorical question, but one worth answering probably
Posted by Omega (Member # 91) on :
Someone called her husband from the plane that crashed into the Pentagon using a cell phone. Her name escapes me, but she was an author, who wrote a book about Clinton's last days in office and the stunts he and his people pulled. Her husband also works for Bush. Solicitor General, IIRC.
Posted by Michael_T (Member # 144) on :
The plane that hit the Pentagon had a prominent woman lawyer who's married to a US official. She called her husband on her cell phone and said that the hijackers had some kind of knife type weapons, then her phone went dead. Similar stories are being reported where passengers from the other flights were able to use their cell phones and called 911 or loved ones. One report had mentioned that the crew and passengers were moved in the back of the plane before it hit one of the Twin Towers. Oh, about sneaking onboard with weapons, there was a report from a civilian aviation group showing how easy it is to get a job in an airport and access all areas.
[ September 11, 2001: Message edited by: Michael_T ]
Posted by First of Two (Member # 16) on :
Apparently, the knives were like X-acto box-opening knives... wouldn't be difficult to smuggle, since the blade is just a razor blade and the handle's often plastic.
It's time we brought back having armed air marshals on flights.
As to whether or not the pilot ditched the plane rather than crash into Camp David (or more likely, finish what the Pentagon attackers started)... we'll probably never know. If he did, don't expect to hear about it... because as soon as that got out, somebody would sue the airline because 'the pilot killed their family.'
Posted by MeGotBeer (Member # 411) on :
The Boston Herald's site has a headline which states, "Little Known Rule Allows Knife Carrying On Flights", but the link is dead. D'oh!
Posted by USS Vanguard (Member # 130) on :
Ah thanks for the info. And carrying knives on a flight isn't really all that weird. How many of us have had a swiss army knife or a leatherman tool attached to our key chain while on a plane?
Posted by Jeff Raven (Member # 20) on :
They found a car of two suspects with books on piloting in arabic.
Posted by Obese Penguin (Member # 271) on :
As the investigation moves forward they have reported one of the suspects in the hijacking was a trained pilot. They are also executing search warrants all over America , many of which are here in Florida where I live.
The finger of blame is inching ever so much closer to Bin Laden. ABC reports that the leader of the investigation into the bombing of the USS Cole , who had to leave Yemen under armed guard after many attempts on his life , recently took a job at the WTC and is now missing. Also intelligence organizations from Germany , the UK , France and Jordan report that this could be the work of Bin Laden.
Update on the Fire Fighters , ABC reports 6 more have been pulled alive from the debris and wreckage.
Posted by Stingray (Member # 621) on :
Apparently one of the airline pilots on the hijacked planes was a graduate of Embry Riddle, the school where I am now, in Daytona Beach, Florida right next to the Intl Airport here. FBI is talking to members of the administration here. Also, the media is off the campus and must be itching to be ON campus getting our reactions. But they're not allowed and we have all been told that if we see media on campus to call security and to not talk to the media either on or off campus.
Crazy shit.
Posted by Obese Penguin (Member # 271) on :
It was one of the Hijackers who took classes not the airline pilots.
Posted by Michael_T (Member # 144) on :
You don't really need to take flying lessons to take control of a Boeing 757 or 767, just have the pilot take you near JFK International or La Guardia International, take him or her out of the seat, and then aim the plane at full speed at innocent civilians.
Posted by Obese Penguin (Member # 271) on :
if only it was that easy.
Remember your at the wheel of a huge aircraft and it is a complex machine , its not just grab the stick and fly like a video game.
There are lots of forces that act on the flight characteristics of an airplane that a pilot knows how to counter act.
Posted by Stingray (Member # 621) on :
Scratch my last. One of the hijackers is a graduate of Embry Riddle.
I have to go now.
Posted by CaptainMike (Member # 709) on :
They should have anywhere from 2-4 armed security guards on the flights.. probably federal officers, for jurisdictions sake. Whether they should be undercover or uniformed, or even one or two of both should be up to them.
Cockpit doors are made of very thin plastic board and have crude if any latch mechanisms. They should have locks.
We cant destroy the travel network by trying to scrutinize every single passenger more than we do now, but try to protect and control them once they are on the plane
Airport security will keep devices and complex weapons off the planes, but plane security will keep the passengers from committing or falling victim to acts
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
I always wondered about that: why are the most important people on board an airplane behind a lousy curtain!? Lock the forward pilot sections! Or am I thinking to simple?
Posted by MeGotBeer (Member # 411) on :
You could even put private armed security on the airliners. The 747 jets already have armed security, and two or more armed security men wouldn't be justified on many flights, especially those with small manifests.
Posted by CaptainMike (Member # 709) on :
At this point, i dont know if i would trust a rent-a-cop as opposed to a federal officer with a badge
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Security with what? A GUN? Yeah, let's fire off a projectile weapon in a pressurized airliner.
Posted by CaptainMike (Member # 709) on :
That concern hasnt stopped the people who bring guns aboard aircraft and shoot the pilots. Im presuming a federal sky marshal would understand the dangers involved in using (or even drawing) his weapon and act accordingly.
Posted by The_Tom (Member # 38) on :
US Aviation law dictates that the cockpit be locked while in flight, I think. (Locking the cockpit isn't legally required in Canada and Europe, but not for long...)
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Rob, you got your wish. CNN now reports the immediate discontinuance of curbside check-ins, the complete prohibition of all bladed instruments, & a reinstatement of federal air marshals.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
Would it make a difference?
Look at it this way. A man with a weapon threatens a passenger, and says "Take this plane to New York". The pilot is going to do it, isn't he? How's that different from a man with a weapon threatening a passenger, and saying "Take me to the cockpit"?