🚀 go-pugleaf

Any comment on that, especially from airline captains, welcomed.

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Newsgroups:  fr.rec.aviation
Date:        Thu, 18 Oct 2001 01:23:46 +0200

Fraternal Brothers and Sisters,

My name is John Burnett.  I am a DC-10 Captain for FedEx.  I am also a
Police Officer for the Memphis Police Department.

My purpose in writing this is to share some of my thoughts regarding
actions a pilot might consider when faced with a modern-day hijacker.
These thoughts are "outside-the-box" when it comes to the way we've all
been trained.  Neither the FAA or our companies will suggest any of these
techniques or implement them as a part of our normal training cycles.  They
couldn't for fear of lawsuits.

I am distributing this via e-mail to buddies I've flown with.  I'm asking
them to send it to their circle of friends within the industry, and for you
to send it to yours.  I know most of us have e-mail, and I hope this
reaches the next to face the horror of some religious fanatic onboard.

We have all had "training" in what to do in case of a hijacking; try to
keep the hijacker calm, make him think you're doing what he wants, take him
where ever he wants to go, etc., etc., etc.  Save your passengers, your
crew, and your aircraft.

In an emergency, you will revert to that training.  When our unfortunate
peers were faced with the screams of the Flight Attendants and hijacker's
demands to open the cockpit door, their training probably made them open
the door.  When the fanatics made demands, their training told them to
comply as best they could.  I can only wonder what their thoughts were as
they left the cockpit and were tied up in the back of the plane; what they
thought as they descended over New York.. I hope the fanatics had to kill
them in their seats and drag their dead bodies out of the cockpit.  But, I
bet they did as they were trained to do..

As you look back over recent hijackings, FedEx, Egypt Air, and now the
September 11th hijackings, you see a perpetrator who, for one reason or
another wants to take over the airplane and kill himself.  Each of these
hijackers, except for the FedEx incident, were successful.  They took over
the airplane and killed everyone onboard.

If you're following the news programs today, you hear a lot about how we
could let these hijackers learn to fly.  You would think if knowing how to
fly would guarantee a successful hijacking, Auburn Calloway (the FedEx
hijacker) would have been a hijacker success story.  He was a Navy pilot, a
martial arts student, a fellow FedEx crewmember, and he took all the
weapons he needed: hammers, knives and a spear gun.  He didn't have to
overcome any Flight Attendants or demand they open the cockpit door.  He
just went back to his bag, took out his hammer came back into the cockpit
and started crushing skulls.

The crewmembers on that flight didn't worry about Flight Attendants, they
didn't worry about passengers.  All three pilots left the cockpit and
fought a hand-to-hand, life-or-death battle.

To survive today's hijacker, you cannot worry about your passengers; you
cannot worry about your Flight Attendants.  You must develop a mind-set
that everyone onboard - including yourself - is already dead.  Because, if
the hijacker is successful in taking over your airplane, not only you, your
crew, your passengers and your aircraft are lost, but thousands on the
ground are at risk.

One of the reasons the FedEx crew survived, is the extraordinary actions of
the co-pilot.  Although he had brain injury, the co-pilot took the DC-10
and immediately executed a half-roll.  This maneuver took the hijacker off
his feet as the Captain and S/O were struggling with him.  During a point
in the maneuver, the hijacker, Captain and S/O were thrown back behind the
cockpit door.  When he righted the airplane, the F/O then left his seat and
joined the fight in the galley area of the plane.  It was only after the
Captain determined the hijacker was subdued, he returned to the cockpit and
flew the airplane to landing.

Very few of us have had to confront true evil.  Fewer still have seriously
considered taking the life of another human being.  I believe this is the
reason the FedEx crew did not kill their attacker.  The crew's heroism that
day is beyond belief and any action that leads to a safe landing and
recovery cannot be argued with.  But, when the Captain left the F/O and
S/O, thinking the situation was under control, he was mistaken. The F/O and
S/O had sustained serious, life-threatening injuries.  The hijacker had
not.  As the Captain flew the aircraft, the hijacker, who had surrendered,
began the fight anew.  As the airplane landed, the hijacker was just
moments away from overcoming the two crewmembers.

I mention this for your consideration.  I would suggest that you make the
conscious decision to kill anyone who tries to take your airplane from you.
Today we are at war.  The hijacker who comes through your cockpit door is
going to kill you and everyone onboard.

So, how do you do that?  What weapons are available to us as pilots?

The intercom.

            Command that all men come forward and fight with the hijackers.
You have many able-bodied men onboard.  They are sitting in shock not
knowing what to do.  Command they come forward and help you kill your
attackers.  And, they will come.

The airplane itself.

            Get the hijackers off their feet.  Go into an immediate dive to
float them to the ceiling.  Then execute a 6G positive maneuver and hope
they hit their head or break their back as they hit the floor, galley
shelf, etc.

            Dump the cabin - maybe one of the hijackers has a head cold.

            Pull the fire handles, shut the start levers and turn the fuel
valves off.  If you loose the battle, at least the airplane won't be used
as a guided missile on a kamikaze mission.  With luck, maybe these guys
didn't learn how to do an in-flight restart.  Then leave the cockpit - all
of you, and kill your attackers - don't believe it when they surrender -
don't be nice to them - KILL THEM.

Flare Gun

            If your airplane has one, the Captain might consider making
sure it's loaded and secured next to his bag.  I can think of nothing more
satisfying than watching a ball of burning phosphorous embedded into a
fanatic's gut, burning its way through him.

The crash-axe.

            I would suggest you have your co-pilot take it from it's holder
and secure it next to him so he has it immediately available.  Makes an
excellent skull crusher.

Your flashlight.

            The FAA use to require a 2 cell.  A 3 cell Mag-Light makes an
excellent weapon.  If your maneuvers have the hijackers on the floor
writhing in pain, crush their skulls with it.

Your stolen hotel bic pen.

            Drive it into an attacker's eye, ear, throat, or into the area
just under the jaw bone.  That's a particular interesting place to drive
it, because when he opens his mouth to scream, you can read "Hyatt"
sticking there.

Your hand and fingers

            Drive your fingers into his eyes and try to feel your
fingernails scrape the back of his eye sockets.  Scoop the eyeballs out.
It will confuse the hell out of him when he finds himself looking at his
shoes as they dangle there on the ocular nerves.

Your teeth.

            Remember Hannabal Lecter.  Eat a nose, a cheek, or a finger.
And keep eating.  Attack with all viciousness. A piranha is a small fish,
but it's greatly feared.  A hijacker is not expecting you to eat him and it
might make him forget why he got on your airplane to begin with.  It will,
at least, impress his buddies.

Now here's my wish-list of things the FAA could do to help, especially in
this time of war.

Arm the Captain

            The battle is not going to require any long shots and a small
revolver would be a good choice.  It would hold off the attackers long
enough for you to disable your aircraft.  If the attackers claimed the red
package they were holding was a bomb, I'd shoot out the door glass and hope
the door would be ripped out and the hijacker and his package would be
sucked out.  And hey, if I got sucked out with him, I'd try to fly myself
to the hijacker look in his face and laugh at him all the way to the
ground.

Invite the local Police to jumpseat

            Police are always looking for something free.  Donut shops use
to be a favorite target for robbers - until they started giving donuts to
the Police.  Robbers don't rob donut shops anymore.

            I would suggest each Police Department send the FAA a list of
the best shots on the department and those guys and their guns would be
welcome on my airplane.  Fill every vacant seat with armed Police - give
them a donut - and tell them to shoot anyone who gives your Flight
Attendant any shit.

Stop this silly no-knife rule.

            Make it public.  Tell the public they're welcome to bring their
pocket knives onboard.  Then everyone will bring them.  When you make your
intercom call for help, you'll have a dozen or more knife wielding helpers
trying to make sure their new Gerber tastes fanatics blood.  There are even
a few of them who'd want to keep ears as souvenirs.

Law enforcement agencies are all aware there are copy-cat criminals and
fanatics.  We have a number of loony fanatical hate-groups here in the USA:
ALF, PETA, KKK, Army of God, Anti-abortionists, and the list goes on.  It
doesn't matter the size of your airplane.  Right now, as I write this,
there is an anti-abortionist escapee here in the Memphis area.  He's seen
what happened at the World Trade Center.  A small commuter plane would do a
great job on an abortion clinic, or on an animal research facility, or on a
local synagogue, mosque, etc., etc., etc.....

None of us is immune.  Take some time and consider your actions if this
event should ever happen to you. My prayer is none of you ever have to face
this kind of decision. Best of luck to you, and may God Bless America.
John Burnett.

(Think I'll get another cup 'o coffee....whew......)  RDO

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TThierry 
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