"Pilots, US Congress Complain Over Delays In Arming Pilots"

Friday, August 8, 2003                         
 
Pilots, US Congress Complain Over Delays In Arming Pilots
The Associated Press


WASHINGTON (AP)--Fewer than 100 pilots have been trained to carry guns in
the cockpit in the eight months since Congress approved the idea, and
hundreds more are waiting, but pilots and members of Congress say the
program is not moving fast enough.

Pilots say it's more important than ever to get weapons in the cockpit
because the Transportation Security Administration froze hiring in the air
marshal program in May and the government is warning al-Qaida may try more
suicide hijackings.

"Between the air marshals and the federal flight deck officer force, we
should cover a vast majority of the domestic flights," said Capt. Bob
Lambert, president of the Airline Pilots' Security Alliance. "It just seems
like we haven't learned very much from Sept. 11."

Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., chairman of the House Transportation and
Infrastructure subcommittee on aviation., said he's angry that the TSA is
moving at "a snail's pace."

"You can't imagine my frustration," he said. "This should be a quick
orientation."

The first 44 pilots to complete the five-day weapons training program were
designated "flight deck officers" on April 19 and began flying with weapons.
The second class finished in July, and now classes are conducted weekly.

Hundreds more who have undergone background checks and psychological tests
are lined up for the weapons training program in the fall, said TSA
spokesman Robert Johnson.

TSA is already in trouble in Congress. Lawmakers say the agency, which has a
$900 million shortfall, has grown too large, too fast, doesn't properly
prioritize spending and is slow to respond to queries from Congress.

The TSA had opposed arming pilots, believing heightened security at airports
, bulletproof cockpit doors and more vigilant passengers made it
unnecessary. Critics also said adding weapons to airplanes was inherently
dangerous.

Pilots lobbied Congress, arguing they could supplement the air marshals, who
cover only a small percentage of the 35,000 daily flights in the United
States.

TSA chief James Loy grudgingly endorsed the idea after it became apparent
Congress would pass such a directive.

Under the program, pilots take a week of classes, weapons instruction and
hand-to-hand combat drills at the TSA Law Enforcement Academy in Glynco, Ga.
Background checks and psychological testing can take two months to complete.

Johnson said the TSA believes pilots must be submitted to the same kind of
screening that other federal law enforcement officers go through before
they're sworn in.

Mica calls the psychological testing "nonsense."

"It's been captured by the bureaucrats and they've run amok," Mica said of
the program.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., a sponsor of the bill to arm pilots, charged
the TSA is dragging its feet because it didn't want pilots to carry guns in
the first place.

Mica is circulating a letter in Congress urging the TSA to turn over the
program to the private sector. Pilots are lobbying to move it to another
agency, preferably the FBI.

Owen Mills, owner of a private firearms training facility in Paulden, Ariz.,
said he would charge about $3,000 per pilot for a week of training. The TSA
says it costs about $6,200 for training, testing and background checks.

Pilots also are worried about the TSA's plan to move the training academy to
a federal law enforcement training center in Artesia, N.M., next month. They
say that will further delay getting more pilots certified to carry weapons.

The TSA said the New Mexico training center is better because it has three
Boeing 727s configured for terrorism training. Georgia originally was chosen
because it was more convenient for pilots.

Capt. Steve Luckey, a retired pilot who helped develop the training program,
said the pilots' program is more cost-effective. Pilots train on their own
time and pay for transportation, room and board. Air marshals are government
employees.

Congress gave the air marshal program more than $500 million last year. In
April, TSA set aside $8 million to train pilots through September.


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