PASSENGER ETIQUETTE DURING A HIJACKING....

[Alex]

If the Captain goes down with their Ship...

....Then an Airplane Pilot CANNOT give up Control of their Airplane.

Should another HIJACKING happen, the Pilot must be protected at all costs, since the pilot may be the only one who can safely land the plane.

Most HIJACKERS up until the recent tragedy, want to be taken somewhere other than where the plane was headed....I am concerned that in the future, passengers will automatically assume any future HIJACKING is meant to take control of the plane for purposes of crashing it into something.

It is of the utmost importance that the Passengers not confuse their own role in the event of a HIJACKING.

The HIJACKERS AGENDA must be understood before passengers attempt any kind of action.

If the HIJACKER doesn't enter the cockpit, then there is no need for a passenger or for passengers to try something stupid like open the emergency doors to try and somehow crash the plane.

As long as the Airline Pilot stays in the Cockpit, and the Hijackers aren't in the Cockpit, there probably is no need to fear that the plane is going to be crashed into a building.

A HIJACKER can hold a passenger hostage if they truly want to HIJACK a plane....they don't ever have to be in the cockpit....PERIOD!

As long as the certified pilot remains in charge, AND NO HIJACKER IS IN THE COCKPIT, then we don't need passengers trying to be heroes.

So, the key is this, under no circumstance is someone who has tried to HIJACK a Plane ever allowed to REMAIN in the cockpit. Even if a HIJACKER should somehow gain access to the cockpit, ONLY IF THE HIJACKER DOES NOT RETREAT FROM THE COCKPIT should passengers consider removing the HIJACKER from the cockpit as an option.

Once the HIJACKER has entered the cockpit area, and chooses to stay there, than the passengers and the plane may consider the possibility that the plane they are in may be doomed to crash unless they take action.

In my opinion, a HIJACKER IN THE COCKPIT is the only time that passengers should ever attempt to take back a plane from a HIJACKER.

If a HIJACKER grabs a passenger and threatens to kill the passenger unless they are given control of the plane...Cockpit Control can never be given....

....Because that would violate the rule of NO HIJACKERS ALLOWED IN THE COCKPIT.

Perhaps along with the "Seat can be used as a Flotation Device" speech that is given at the beginning of every flight, Airline personnel need to include a short speech about the "sanctity of the cockpit".

I'm worried about a misguided traveler not understanding PASSENGER ETIQUETTE.

PASSENGER ETIQUETTE simply means as long as the HIJACKER has not taken control of the cockpit, the plane has a decent chance to land safely, and the passengers must remain calm and controlled.

I'm worried that during a future HIJACKING, a confused traveler could somehow try and create a disturbance to crash the plane as some kind of misguided heroic act.

If the certified pilot is still in control of the plane, a HIJACKING does not mean the passengers need to try and crash the plane on their own.

I think our government needs to review Airplane Policy concerning HIJACKING as it relates to the Passenger on National Television...and the sooner the better.

A message from the President of the United States about passenger conduct during a HIJACKING will give some power back to the American Citizens by DEFINING our role in the event of a HIJACKING.




[This message has been edited by Alex (edited September 22, 2001).]

[Alex]

Just posting to this to bring it back to the top....any opinions out there? Helpful suggestions to add?

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Alex

[SHATOUSHKA]

as a passenger of a (possible) hijacked plane, i would feel that my priority would be to sit in the back of the plane and wet my pants like everyone else.




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General Philosophy

[Alex]

Ah, those flotation devices might come in handy afterall.

I guess it depends on which emotion wins out, fear or anger.

Fear, and the ensuing paralysis that comes from the events being too out of the norm to comprehend, so shock sets in.

Anger could have emerged if the passengers were given the truth of what was going to happen on the planes that crashed into the WTC.

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Alex

[This message has been edited by Alex (edited September 24, 2001).]

[SHATOUSHKA]

yeah, there is always some john wayne on board that thinks he is gonna stop something major.

too bad i'll still be in the corner...
this time passed out.

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General Philosophy

[Alex]

I have an analogy for you...

Lets say you pick-up a hitchiker who happens to be going in the same direction as you.

You are on the freeway doing 60mph, and the hitchiker pull a knife on you and tells you to jump into the back seat.

You do as you are told.

The hitchhiker joins you in the backseat and just stares at you.

Your driverless car starts to drift out of it's lane and will inevitably crash into the center divider within 15-30 seconds, the freeway has other traffic behind you, including a schoolbus full of children.

Would you really pee your pants?



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Alex

[Alex]

The President of the U.S. could heal a lot of Americans injured pride if he held a press conference with the head of the FAA about proper procedures to follow in the event an American Citizen is on board a plane when a HIJACKING occurs, this issue NEEDS TO ADDRESSED...the sooner the better.



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Alex

[SHATOUSHKA]

ok ok...maybe i haven't painted a bright picture.

wht i mean to be saying is this:

i am the type of person that completely succumbs to her fear.
this means, when i get truly afraid, i freeze...entirely.
thats all there is to it.

if the fear lingers further than my initial frozen state, i would eventually blackout.

as for the schoolbus of children, there is nothing i can do.

people die everyday. should i be in such a situation, some may look at me getting into the backseat as a selfish maneuver--protecting my right to life. because i went for the back seat, i inevidently risked the lives of countless others.

those 'others' are meaningless. sorry, but they are.

they are happenstance--subject only to the present now. nothing more. it goes back to the arguments someone is currently giving on the GP...about cause and effect...remember? the argument of chance.

it would not be chance that those children where in that situation at that time. it would not be chance that i would be getting into the backseat...

all sorts of past evidence leads up to that particular moment.

*sigh*

i'm tired of arguing my point now. i gotta go home.


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General Philosophy

[Alex]

There is nothing wrong with getting in the back seat, that is a normal initial reaction as you are complying with the "hitchhiker's initial demand".

But once the "hitchhiker" gets in the backseat....and no one is driving, the situation has a new dynamic.

You should try to regain the steering wheel.
Although going limp with fear may increase your chance of survival in the event of an automobile crash.

My point of this whole topic is to have EVERY American Citizen conditioned to believe that there can be no status quo ever again if the pilot is not in the cockpit.

Everyone on the plane should fight to put the captain back in the cockpit, rather than let an unknown commodity fly the plane.

Now we know this...before the tragedy, this was not a "mandated" viewpoint.

I appreciate your honesty.

Just consider not always pre-believing what you already know, it can limit you in the future.

It is very brave to admit you have fear, most people would believe they would act heroically, without ever really finding out for real.



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Alex

[Alex]

Overheard TODAY on a radio station....

"The Airlines should make an announcement about Hijackers just the way they make an announcement about flotation devices"...

Apparently, a pilot made such an announcement last weekend...and the passengers cheered wildly upon his conclusion.

Too bad healing America on an individual level is not as important as healing America's Corporate Image....too bad indeed.

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Alex