obviously, if it was apparent that there was no way the plane was going to land safely, and it had become a manned missle, you’d bet your darndest i’d be one of the first people to rush the terrorist(s)
[KlingonMode] to die in battle, defending the lives of innocents, there would be no greater honor [/KlingonMode]
I’m no expert, and the only thing i’ve ever “flown” is a parachute, but i seem to remember from previous discussions on this topic that your chances of landing a jet airliner would be extremely slim, even if you were an experienced light plane pilot.
And i don’t mean that you might buckle the wheels or tilt the wing a bit on landing; if what i’ve read is true, it’s possible you wouldn’t even be able to hit the general area of the runway.
good point, but if the choice was between MacTech The Armchair Pilot, or JoeNeverFlownBefore, i’d feel more comfortable with someone who at least knows the principles of flight behind the yoke, rather than someone who’s never stepped foot inside the flight deck
worst case scenario would be to cut fuel to the engines, dump the remaining fuel and land the thing on it’s fuselage, yes the plane would be trashed beyond repair, but the people inside would be able to leave alive, perhaps a little banged up, but alive
MacTech go read this GQ thread to find out more about landing an airliner.
And Broomstick you can rest assured that there are no sneaky ways to get into the cockpit. The ceilings have only a few inches between the panel and the outside skin, and that is filled with wiring. The floor is solid, and no terrorist is going to get a chance to cut through it. The forward baggage compartments stop well aft of the cockpit, because the nose gear has to retract somewhere! Even if a terrorist pulled a Hollywood stunt and managed to end up under the floor and was able to start cutting, he would get a very violent greeting from us. Remember that we have a crash axe up front with us, and you can bet that it will be swinging at someone attempting to take over the airplane.
Fight. No question. Though the melee approach is definately NOT the way to go on a crowded airplane. I’d need some time to assess the situation before taking any kind of action. For the sake of preparation, however, whenever I fly, I ask for a seatbelt extender (which makes a neat impact weapon) and carry this flashlight with me.
I’m a big chap (6’5" 360#) and can take (as well as dole out) quite a bit of punishment, if I didn’t get 'em all, I’d take all I could with me, in any way I could.
That said though, I think that proverbial ship has sailed. It’s rather unlikely that the planes-as-weapons gambit would be used again. Possible, but unlikely IMO.