Did TSA Idiocy Cause Pilot Gun Mishap?

By Steve in Tennessee Posted in National Security — Comments (6) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

(h/t The Michael Bane Blog)
Last week this story caused a mini-sensation when a pilot that had qualified through the "Federal Flight Deck Officer" program had an "accidental discharge." Take a look at the weapon and holster the program MANDATES for each FFDO. A LOCK through the TRIGGER GUARD?

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

I've been carrying a handgun for over 20 years now, and if ANYONE mandated that I should put ANYTHING in the trigger guard of MY weapon I would have immediately looked into seeing that THEY no longer carried a weapon. Anyone who is knowledgeable about firearms knows that the trigger is to NEVER be TOUCHED unless the weapon is to be fired SOON, as in IMMEDIATELY. This holster requires that a metal bar be treaded through the trigger guard of a double action pistol and worn on the hip. I'm FLOORED to think that this is the FIRST time something like this has happened.

And that lock that TSA mandates be threaded through the holster? It isn't even secure. Here's a video on how to pick it in seconds:

Paul Huebl of CrimeFileNews broke the story of how this holster and weapon were made for mishap back in December 2007.

It was only a matter of time before there’d be an accidental, non-negligent discharge of a Federal Flight Deck Officer’s weapon. Saturday a U.S. Airways pilot’s gun discharged on Flight 1536, which left Denver at approximately 6:45am and arrived in Charlotte at approximately 11:51am. The Airbus A319 plane landed safely and thankfully none of the flight’s 124 passengers or five crew members was injured

The insane procedures required by the TSA demands that our pilots to lock and then un-lock their .40 side arms was and is a solid recipe for disaster. Did the TSA deliberately create this bizarre and unconventional Rube Goldberg firearm retention system hoping for this result? The sordid history of the FAA and TSA’s total resistance to the concept of arming pilots to protect Americans is in itself a scandal.

Putting a gun into a holster and then threading a padlock through the trigger and trigger-guard is required every time the pilots enter or leave the cockpit. This kind of silliness has never been forced on any law enforcement or security officers anywhere in the world until now. Before this holster padlock procedure pilots with guns were forced to carry them around in a cumbersome 22 pound vault. The vault caused problems in the confined space of most cockpits.

FFDO pilots need to carry their side arms in conventional concealed holsters and there is no reason for the unnecessary handling of their firearms in the cockpits.

Huebl then made a video explaining how the discharge probably happened.

I have to say, this reeks of someone wanting to sabotage the process of arming pilots. No one can be THIS stupid, can they?

Here's a bit of a clue from the CBS item at the time:

The TSA initially opposed the Flight Deck Officer program to arm and train cockpit personnel. Agency officials worried that introducing a weapon to commercial flights was dangerous and that other security improvements made it unnecessary. Congress and pilots backed the program.

"The TSA has never been real supportive of this program," said Mike Boyd, who runs the Colorado-based aviation consulting firm The Boyd Group. "It's something I think Congress kind of put on them."

Stupidity or deliberate sabotage?

This is a prime example of Bureaucratic idiocy! by aceintx

This is a prime example of Bureaucratic idiocy!

I used to work in the DOJ for the government and one of the biggest frustrations we had as employees who actually had a job was people that had been promoted into supervisory positions with authority over operational agencies where they had no prior experience. For example, people who had come up through the ranks from psychology who had authority over law enforcement, safety, or security function policy.

I guarantee you that this system was designed tested and put into the field buy a mid level bureaucrat who has never handled a gun on a day to day basis. This system and the policy governing its use was implimented without any input whatsoever by anyone with first hand knowledge of weapons and how they work.

I could understand locking the holster to keep a terrorist from getting the weapon from the Pilot and using it but the holster is the only thing that needs to be secured and locked. There is no reason for anything to go inside the trigger guard. Another thing that could have been done to prevent this is to not chamber a round until there is a reason to use the firearm. It only takes a second to chamber the round and it would preclude the weapon being fired since the hammer would fall on an empty chamber.

As for the people in the field, I can guarantee you that there were individuals who raised this as a safety issue and brought it to the attention of supervisors. They probably were ostracized by their supervisors or bosses 2 levels up for rocking the boat and being troublemakers.

This is why I left DOJ and started my own business because there is a total absence of simple common sense and a refusal by people in management positions that have no clue what's needed and an absolute refusal to consider the possibility that someone knows more than they do about anything.

--"Faith is a free work to which no one can be forced. Nay it is a Divine work, done in the Spirit."--Martin Luther

Reply To This — User Info — #1

Sounds like a parallel to the 'virtual fence' by E Pluribus Unum

I should not have been surprised by this revelation, but I was. This bureaucracy needs a major house-cleaning - just like State and CIA - to remove (or greatly diminish) an entrenched anti-Republican establishment.

Kill the terrorists
Protect the borders
Punch the hippies -- Frank J

Reply To This — User Info — #2

but they tried that by Andysforsmalgovernment

But they already "tried" that with the Attorney General's employees, and look where that got them.

No way the Dem's in congress allow that clearing of old baggage to go through.

"Government of the people, by the people, for the people."
A. Lincoln

Reply To This — User Info — #3

TSA by jsteele

You have merely to attempt to board a flight at any of America's 100 busiest airports to see the idiocy at work.

Homeland Security, and TSA in particular, seem to be very good at creating and implementing regulations. But I'm willing to bet that there is not a single individual, of any authority, charged with making them efficient or "passenger-friendly." Nor is there anyone charged with ensuring that employees are competent and treat people with anything approaching civility.

John
----------
Why would God invent something like whiskey? To keep the Irish from ruling the world of course

Reply To This — User Info — #5

unholstering your weapon by grumpy_old_soldier

For the twenty years I was in the US Army Infantry, I handled small arms of all sizes and calibers, and now as a retired private citizen my state allows me to open-carry and concealed-carry my personal handgun with certain restrictions and limitations.

I would take issue with anyone or any agency recommending or mandating that a lock be placed on any weapon where that weapon might need to be deployed at a moment's notice in an threat situation. Such a situation could go from zero to off the scale in the blink of an eye, and no one needs to be fumbling with a trigger lock in those first critical moments.

Instead, comprehensive, rigorous and sustained training of any and all personnel designated to carry is the only practical alternative. Teach your people how to handle their weapons and never unholster them unless the situation requires it, and the potential for accidental discharges is minimized.

Reply To This — User Info — #6

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