Of the 28,000 commercial airline flights that take to the skies on an average day in the United States, fewer than 1 percent are protected by on-board, armed federal air marshals, a nationwide CNN investigation has found.
That means that a terrorist or other criminal bent on taking over an aircraft would be confronted by a trained air marshal on as few as 280 daily flights, according to more than a dozen federal air marshals and pilots interviewed by CNN.
The investigation found those low numbers even as the Transportation Security Administration in recent months has conducted tests in which it has been able to smuggle guns and bomb-making materials past airport security screeners.
The air marshal program began in 1970, after a rash of airline hijackings, and it was expanded significantly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Specially trained to safeguard passengers and crew aboard crowded aircraft, air marshals were seen as a critical component in the overall effort to secure America's commercial aviation system.
One pilot who crisscrosses the country and flies internationally told CNN he hasn't seen an air marshal on board one of his flights in six months. A federal law enforcement officer, who is not affiliated with the air marshal service and who travels in and out of Washington every week, said he has gone for months without seeing a marshal on board.
Neither individual wanted to be identified because neither is authorized by his employer to speak out.
Yet, another pilot, who wanted to protect his identity because he carries a weapon in the cockpit, said he regularly flies in and out of New York's airports and almost never encounters an air marshal.
"I would have to guess it's fewer than 1 percent of all my flights," the pilot said. "I'm guessing by the coverage of when I go to those cities, fewer than 1 percent."
Am I the only one pissed by this? What the FUCK are we paying for here people? Sure, when/if another Al-Qaeda guy stands up to take over a plane, he's most likely going to be beaten to death by the passengers or shot by the pilot. However, what about flights where there aren't many passengers? I've been on flights where there was fewer then 10 people on board and this was a larger aircraft.
Now, my personal feeling is: "If I'm going down, you're coming with me at the very least, or you'll be dead by the time we slam into the ground at most". However, I can't be on all the flights at once folks. Here's what would have happened on 9/11 if things were slightly different:
Believe me, if passengers were armed, you can bet your ass that 9/11 would have never happened. But of course, you'll have fucking Gun Control pussies out there who'll try to argue the contrary.
Let me ask you this: When was the last time you heard about a mass shooting at a gun show, police station, gun shop, or any other place that's typically full of law abiding, armed to the teeth citizens? Exactly, you haven't. There's a reason for that.
We all get this idea in our heads that the government will take care of things like this, but if they aren't going to put US Marshall's on those flights, then the only solution is to allow people with concealed weapons permits to carry their weapons onto the aircraft.
You could even make a rule that says if you bring your weapon on board, you can't be served alcohol.
Why is this such a hard thing to think through people? There's a reason why Flight 93 didn't slam into a government building: The passengers took matters into their own hands and prevented further deaths that day.
Many people will point to explosive decompression as a counter argument to my ideas, but obviously these people haven't seen Mythbusters.
Travis
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