Pilots demand right to carry guns

American airline pilots today demanded permission to carry guns in cockpits to fight off potential suicide hijackers.

They also called for stronger doors in planes, a new law enforcement agency dedicated to secure flying and permission to carry stun guns in the cabin.

The call came in the wake of the kamikaze hijackings which ended in the terror attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon which have left almost 7,000 dead and missing.

Today Captain Duane Woerth, president of the Airline Pilots Association, told the America Congress his members were demanding the right to be armed.

The union is proposing the FBI train pilots and appoint them as ‘‘deputies’’, giving them the legal right to be armed while in the air.

Mr Woerth said: ‘‘This is a reflection on how much the attack on September 11 has changed everything we thought about hijackings and terrorism.

‘‘Under the old model of hijackings, that 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.’’

Under the union plan, pilots would not be forced to carry guns but if they wanted to, would undergo background checks and extensive training before being issued with handguns.

Mr Woerth also called for reinforced doors to be immediately fitted to airline cabins, with a lock on the inside which hijackers could not override.

‘‘There should also be a mesh door fitted on the inside to further delay hijackers,’’ he told the aviation sub-committee of the House of Representatives.

And he said stun guns should also be part of the cockpit equipment, as a line of defence against hijackers.

‘‘We also recommend the installation of two stun guns as standard equipment in airplanes,’’ said Mr Woerth, whose union has 67,000 members in America and Canada.

The union also called for airport security to be taken over by the federal government to ensure it is properly administered, and a new law enforcement agency established.

‘‘The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) is not a law enforcement agency, nor is it staffed to provide law enforcement,’’ said Mr Woerth.

He said a new agency should oversee all security and added: ‘‘This agency should also be responsible for co-ordinating threat and other information.’’

And he added: ‘‘We must use highly-trained and motivated security personnel and the best equipment.

‘‘I believe that this will allow everyone that uses our national air transportation system to use it with the utmost sense of security.’’

The FAA has said it is ‘‘absolutely willing’’ to allow pilots to be armed.