TSA Sabotaging Armed Pilot Program (Part II)

By Karen Di Piazza

APSA reported to the House Aviation Subcommittee on the status of the FFDO program in October. Over 40,000 pilots initially signed up for training, but 90 percent of those pilots have since declined to participate.

“It’s been somewhere between Watergate and the Pelican Brief, dealing with TSA,” said Mackett.

New legislation on horizon

Members of Congress are angry over these facts. Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) and Wilson, who coauthored a new bill with other colleagues, have promised to introduce the “Cockpit Security Technical Corrections and Improvements Act of 2004,” which will eliminate the discretion on the part of TSA over whether a pilot could participate in FFDO training. They plan to enforce major alterations to the FFDO program. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who was instrumental in passing the first law, is expected to work closely with her colleagues to introduce the new bill.

Some say in Congress TSA is having tantrums.

“We’re talking about professionals here, but it’s just been roadblock after roadblock at TSA,” said Wilson. “It’s a liberal, knee-jerk reaction to guns.”

Legislators believe new legislation will force the FFDO program to become implemented as Congress intended. Bunning said despite the “urgency” of this initiative to enhance our homeland defense, it’s disappointing that TSA has only armed a fraction of pilots.

“This will ensure that all pilots who’ve volunteered for this program can be trained and armed as soon as possible in order to defend the cockpit from terrorist thugs,” he said.

The bill contemplates that any pilot not prohibited from possessing a firearm under the Federal Gun Control Act, will be accepted for FFDO training. Pilots who already have current FAA-approved passenger or cargo pilot’s certificates, who aren’t barred from receiving or possessing a weapon, will automatically be qualified. The bill eliminates redundant, psychological testing and background checks.

FAA-approved pilot certificates are evidence that pilots already meet mental and physical requirements; existing employment by the airlines is evidence they’ve undergone criminal background checks.

Bunning is particularly in favor of specific provisions that would deputize and arm thousands of pilots immediately. Pilots who are active or reserve members of the U.S. Armed Forces, or who are active or former federal, state or local law enforcement officers would immediately become deputized as an FFDO if they’ve had recent firearms training. Under this provision, pilots will be required to complete TSA’s firearms training within 180 days. Pilots that supply proof of completing a state or federally approved firearms training course within the previous year, would be eligible to become armed immediately.

Wilson said that 70 percent of pilots would immediately qualify as they have military, local law or federal backgrounds. The bill would give FFDOs authority to carry their firearms as air marshals do.

Wilson said off-duty FFDOs would have authorization for “acting reasonably to prevent an act of terrorism when outside the cockpit.” He also said he’s going to ask Secretary Tom Ridge of the Department of Homeland Security, who oversees TSA, to implement these provisions of the bill by regulation--until Congress can pass the bill.

“I want to take every reasonable and common-sense step that we can to protect the American public,” he said.

He added that people who have a practical, common-sense understanding of this issue can only come to one conclusion: “Arming pilots enhances the safety of an airplane and the passengers.”

TSA’s Draconian psychobabble

Captain Bob Lambert, who holds a federal firearm license and currently serves in the National Guard Reserves and Armed Forces Reserves, said even fulltime FLEOs, including air marshals, aren’t subjected to TSA’s “Draconian” psychiatric and background screening requirements.

“TSA’s policy requires pilots to complete a three-hour written psychiatric test, then a lengthy psychiatric interview--prior to being accepted for training,” he said.

Mackett said the existing background checks that are already required to operate an aircraft incorporate thorough criminal, immigration and domestic violence screens.

TSA’s Melendez defended their psychological-background testing methods saying it was the “most fair kind of system” they could put in place to qualify as many pilots as possible.

Captain Tracy Price, an advisor to APSA, said TSA has it backwards.

“They’re disqualifying as many pilots as possible,” he said.

Price said in addition to TSA’s psychiatric screening, medical and physical ability evaluations with FAA-doctors, performed every six months for captains, and annually for first officers “should be sufficient.”

Pilots disqualified by TSA

On APSA’s website, there are numerous pilots that have made comments about TSA “dropping” or “disqualifying” them--for no good reason.

Sproc, who flew C-141s while armed with a pistol, was one of those pilots disqualified by TSA.

While working on the Allied Pilots Association’s Committee for the Armed Defense of the Cockpit, Sproc produced video documentaries of the “American Airlines Flight 63-Shoe Bomber” and Taser demonstration videos that politicians nicknamed “Taser Killer,” after Congress voted down using stun guns because the videos showed them to be ineffective against terrorists.

“The Air Force considered me psychologically sound to transport nuclear weapons, flying no less multimillion-dollar cargo aircraft--armed to the hilt,” he said. “The airline I work for also considers me worthy to fly their multimillion-dollar aircraft and to be directly responsible for their passengers’ lives, but yet a TSA psychologist has determined I’m unreliable to carry a weapon in my own airliner!”

First Officer M. Rickey, a charter pilot who actively flies armed for the U.S. Armed Forces Reserves, who has a concealed weapons permit in his home state, said it wasn’t that long ago he was flying armed with a pistol, flying over the Middle East in his F-16 fighter, but like Sproc, TSA’s shrink disqualified him.

“One of the questions TSA asks FFDOs on their ‘secret’ application is, ‘Have you ever wanted to become a fighter pilot?’” he said. “You have a choice of answering yes or no. There wasn’t a section that asked if you’d had any experience in this area, or any section that asked you if you’d had weapons training. So of course, I answered yes, because I was a fighter pilot.”

It’s the answering of “yes,” that pilots are being automatically eliminated, say pilots who’ve been disqualified.

“I had an interview with TSA’s shrink and when she asked me, ‘Do you think you could pull the trigger and kill someone if you had to,’ I thought she was joking,” said Rickey. “She wasn’t joking. If I didn’t think I could pull the trigger and kill someone if I had to, I wouldn’t have applied to the FFDO program in the first place. After that, I received a letter from TSA that simply said I was disqualified.”

Roberts, a former special agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Customs Service and federal firearms instructor, became “fed up” with TSA bureaucracy after he was dropped from the FFDO program--one hour before graduation.

“Of course, TSA didn’t provide any explanation as to why I was suddenly dropped,” he said. “It’s amazing to think you can spend 23 years in the federal government, obtain top-secret security clearances, fly dangerous missions while armed, graduate from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (Glynco, Ga.), as well as the FBI Academy (Quantico, Va.), but TSA decides to drop me one hour before graduating.

“I believe when I told TSA that their carry protocol lockbox idea was dangerous and should not be considered, they decided I would cause problems and dropped me, thinking they’d get away with it and that no one would find out. Well, now Congress knows about it!”

R. K., who currently serves in the U.S. Army Reserves, who has a military police background, was a military helicopter and plane pilot, as well as having been a police officer in a major city where he often engaged in dangerous undercover missions--was simply “ignored” by TSA.

“I initially applied for the FFDO program through a link from ALPA’s website,” he said.“

However, he never received formal notification of his non-acceptance into the FFDO program.

“I was ignored by TSA,” he said. “I have not reapplied since, and I won’t until TSA’s polices are changed.”

R. K. said FLEOs from any agency, are allowed to carry weapons aboard aircraft, which he finds disturbing.

“They bring their weapons aboard aircraft everyday, regardless of their status; no one knows whether they are ‘active’ field agents or merely desk clerks with weapons and credentials,“ he explained. “There’s no way to tell if they’ve taken a course on shooting in the confines of an aircraft.”

Wilson said these types of evaluations made by TSA are insulting.

“These stories, and hundreds more like them, hopefully won’t continue under new legislation,” said Mackett.

Privatize FFDO training

Language in the new bill stipulates that TSA is required to follow the mandate that firearms training be conducted “in places throughout the U.S. so as to be convenient to pilots from all regions.” Mackett said at present, that’s not happening.

“TSA moved its Glynco, Georgia training center to Artesia, New Mexico; it’s the only training center TSA currently allows FFDOs to attend,” says Mackett. “I don’t argue the fact that TSA is incapable of training tens of thousands of pilots, they’ve proved that, but under new legislation they won’t have to worry about that.”

However, ALPA is in favor of TSA’s only training center.

“We support TSA moving its only training center to New Mexico,” Mazor said. “It’s the only training center in the U.S. that has aircraft hulls.”

However, after sending Mazor an email, where he was asked to respond to the fact that aircraft hulls are easily attainable from aircraft graveyards, and that private firearm schools have the resources to train all the pilots quickly, he said ALPA might look into it.

Under new legislation, FFDOs may be able to attend private firearm facilities.

Front Sight Firearms Training Institute in Nevada and Alaska is one of those facilities and is accessible to reach by most commercial or charter airline companies.

“We can train pilots to a higher standard than TSA has been able to,” said Front Sight CEO Dr. Ignatius Piazza. “We can train for $1,200 a person—a far cry from the $800,000 spent thus far to train a handful of FFDOs by TSA. We can train over 500 students per day now, and maintain a ratio of one instructor for every five students on the firing line--the highest standard in the industry.”

Piazza said soon, they’d be able to train up to 1,000 students per day, compared to TSA turning out 100 students per week.

Mazor said if Front Sight could “really” do that, and train to the same “high” standards, as TSA’s center, than he agreed--“you can’t argue with that.”

“We’ve had numerous pilots who’ve already attended our training, pre-training before they go to New Mexico,” he explained. “Here a pilot learns to stop a would-be terrorist by delivering a single, perfectly placed handgun round to the brain. That’s a scenario that a pilot is likely to face; the distance may be short, but the stress and chaos associated with such an event are off the charts. They learn physical skills and the mindset necessary to win these ugly engagements.”

Front Sight and other facilities use Simunition from a Canadian company, which produces a variety of ammunition types. In this case, it’s an FX cartridge. However, from interviewing FFDOs, they say TSA doesn’t offer Simunition training, but should.

“We don’t use amateur ‘paint ball’ guns,” Piazza explained. “The FX cartridge is fired from a real weapon. The only modification to the weapon is a replacement barrel that fires a plastic capsule filled with colored paste made from detergent.”

Recently, members of Congress and pilots attended a public hearing on this issue in Paulden, Ariz., at the Gunsite Academy, which demonstrated training using an aircraft cockpit hull in which a “real life” scenario was set up. A terrorist had gotten through the cockpit door as a crewmember was opening it.

Southwest pilot Terry Sapio played the part of the first officer, while another pilot played the captain and flew the plane. Sapio’s weapon was holstered in the demonstration, instead of being hidden in a lockbox.

Roberts, who attended the hearing, and who’s very experienced with this type of training, expressed his approval.

“The pilot was able to shoot and kill the terrorist immediately and demonstrated how precise his aim was,” he said. “I highly recommend this training and I think this is an excellent firearms school. There are several excellent firearm schools throughout the U.S.”

Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), chair of the Rural Enterprise, Agriculture and Technology Subcommittee, presided over the hearing. Graves, a private pilot who underwent firearms training at Gunsite six years ago, said he conducted the hearing there to demonstrate that pilots who are trained outside of TSA’s facility have received excellent training.

“TSA was invited to attend the hearing, but declined,” Graves explained. “They claimed they did not want to come to a private facility.”

Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) posed questions to pilots after hearing several of them voice complaints about how they’d been treated by TSA, and Mica and Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, also talked with pilots about their complaints with TSA.

Owen “Buz” Mills, CEO of Gunsite, said TSA has been “hamstringing” its efforts to train pilots for the FFDO program and has prevented private operators from providing the training.

Graves said because TSA faces such a large backlog of pilots to undergo the training, he wants TSA to change its procedures, but says they’ll have to do it legislatively.

“We’re losing a lot of money to attend training; we lose a week’s pay from our jobs, and have to pay for transportation and lodging to attend TSA’s remote facility,” explained Mackett.

TSA claims on its website that out-of-pocket expenses for pilots amount to about $200. Mackett said it’s costing them more than $2,500, based on an average week’s pay.

Mackett said he expects airline companies to balk over new legislation that would require them to give pilots unpaid time off to complete firearms training, and to provide space-available seating on flights for their pilots at no cost.

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