# A modest anti plane-terrorist proposal

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-modest-anti-plane-terrorist-proposal/118404>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [July 11, 2002, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-modest-anti-plane-terrorist-proposal/118404 "2002-07-11T12:37:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2002, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-modest-anti-plane-terrorist-proposal/118404/41 "2002-07-15T04:42:46Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Max the Immortal \*  
> \*\*  
> Now, this is where my plan differs. Each plane has several tanks of “knockout gas” (sorry, I don’t know the proper term) hooked up so that it can be released into the cabin’s air supply (controlled by a switch in the cockpit). In the event that a would-be hijacker takes a hostage, the gas is released into the cabin, and it’s lights out for everyone except the pilots. Once the plane lands, the police (using gas masks) retrieve the hijackers and arrest them. Oh, yeah; gas masks would have to be forbidden in the cabin (the air supply from those masks the passengers are supposed to use in case of depressurization can be switched on and off, right?).  
> \*\*

I can shoot a hole in this one (literally) . . .

I’m a terrorist. I know that you have ‘knockout gas’. I also know that if I depressurize the airplane, those little oxy-masks will drop, and provide me and my cohorts a breathable atmosphere while the rest of you pass out. Taking this airliner is as easy as pie.

And before you go on about all the “what about the explosive blowouts?” just remember you saw that in a Hollywood movie. Depressurization can happen from a bullethole, an unsealed door, or a knife through a few select windows. It’s not always so explosive.

Tripler  
I swear to God, I’d rush them sunzabitches while I still had the breath.

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2002, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-modest-anti-plane-terrorist-proposal/118404/42 "2002-07-15T11:17:46Z")

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Re: Rapid decompression.

I’ve been through an “altitude chamber”. Part of the training involved a rapid decompression. We sat in the small part of the chamber and the large part was depressurized. The drill was to put on our O[sub]2[/sub] masks in an emergency situation and switch to 100% O[sub]2[/sub]. While the instructor was talking about what to expect, there was a loud bang and the room filled with fog. (“The old ‘Lull-them-into-complacency-while-I-talk’ trick!”) Not a single person was sucked through the valve.

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