Questions about sky marshalls

Factual Questions
1

I have a few questions about sky marshalls

  1. on which flights do they usually serve? mainly flights TO the US?

  2. are they really carrying guns? What if a terrorist overwhelms one of them? Then he has basically a free ticket to take over the train?

  3. Are sky marshalls agents or policemen?

  4. are there always two of them? (or even more?)

thank you very much

2

We are not going to do your Jr. Terrorist homework for you, buddy.

3

#3 seems safe enough to answer. Sky Marshals are Federal Agents and specifically are part of the Department of Homeland security. As far as I can tell, they are pretty much the only worthwhile part of that agency.

4

Need answer fast?

5

If that train is in the sky, they probably have bigger problems than terrorism.

6

  1. every flight has multiple sky marshalls.

  2. they all carry guns which are coded to only fire if their own DNA is present, and the guns stop working if they are dead.

  3. They are federal agents and trained ninjas. No one can be a sky marshall until they have killed a dozen terrorists with their bare hands.

  4. There are always more than 2, sometimes as many as a dozen depending on the size of the flight.

7

exile3D, you’ve started 3 threads so far. One about breaking down pilot doors in flight, one about a conspiracy theory, and this one one about Sky Marshals. Are we going to see you on the news soon?

8

I was actually on a flight on which everyone other than myself was a sky marshal. I must be a sketchy kind of guy.

9

The short answer is - they aren’t going to tell you or me what the details of security arrangements are.

As for taking over planes, breaking down doors, fights with sky marshals… The 9/11 hijack is one of those “we can only do it once” trick like the old Daffy Duck cartoon. Up to 9/11 the standard behaviour was “cooperate, land, negotiate, eventually things are settled and we all come home safe.” Since then, there are plenty of tricks a pilot can do to make someone regret they were not buckled in, if things in the cabin get difficult. It’s tough to hold a hostage and a weapon, or chop a door open, when you’re bouncing off the ceiling several times a minute, and nowadays pilots are motivated to take evasive maneuvers.

10

Aw, man, in that case we’re screwed.

11

haha no don’t worry

but I was on a flight to the US lately and I was wondering how the security changed since 9/11 since I didn’t visit the states since then

maybe some FBI agents will knock on my door soon though :smiley:

12

Nitpick: since 1974, they’ve been called Air Marshals, not Sky Marshals.

13

nitpick: i heard that they use guns that can not acutally hurt the planes hull…no idea how this works but they mentioned that in a documentary

14

Special bullets maybe?

15

Maybe we already have!!! :eek:

16

… that’s not a nitpick.

17

They are hiding in the overhead bins. That’s why it’s so hard to get your carry on in there.

18

Incorrect that is.

Always two there are, no more, no less. A master and an apprentice.

19

These are all false.

20

AFAIK - the windshield and windows are shatterproof glass, so you’re not going create a massive decompression like we see in the movies with a bullet hole. Even less likely with a hole in the hull. I assume they use lower-velocity bullets anyway that will stop a body but aren’t going to go through several bodies and a few layers of metal.

Of course, once shots are fired, the aircraft will land at the nearest available airport and be surrounded by SWAT teams, so a minor air leak will not be a major problem. If necessary they can descend to cruise at 12,000 feet until they reach the airport, so that air pressure is not a problem.