Securing the cockpit - just a thought

[akerosid]

I was thinking a while back about whether it would be possible, as a very last resort, to connect a metal wire to the cockpit door, providing a small electric shock; this would be particularly important in a situation where you were attempting an emergency landing due to a hijack situation and forced entry was being attempted.

If the lock is secure, but the handle/knob can't be touched, this may buy you a minute or two, enough to get down if you're already on finals - or close enough that you can safely deploy spoilers without too much structural damage. Is there a fuse or any element of the electrics which could be linked for this purpose; if the cabin lights were being dimmed anyway, this might provide sufficient energy for this purpose. Any thoughts as to feasibility?

[sky9]

Whay not a BIG electric shock and fry the Barsteward! :)

[Long Range Cruise]

I think this is a perfectly feasible suggestion, and would welcome it onboard anytime. On the other hand, security shouldn't let the ******s on anyway!

[Genghis the Engineer]

(1) pointless, all the terrorist needs to do is wear insulating shoes. You can't give a shock through a single point. Even if you had twin handles, and the shock between them, a plastic glove would solve the problem.

(2) The idea of what an electric shock device behind the cockpit would do to the avionics worries me!

G

[Long Range Cruise]

Must agree in some respects. It's not highly likely that these people are going to have the intelligence or background knowlegde to wear special gloves if they are in going to down the plane by intruding the flight deck. Most pilots I believe, such as myself, would accept such a prospective idea.. .With respect to worrying about the avionics, i can understand your perspective view however, such a small shock couldn't surely do any harm, right? I mean to the avionics, not the madman. And if this idea was to be prototyped, they would create or introduce new systematic ideas to deviate from this problem. Do you agree?

[The African Dude]

better still, a bucket of water resting on the top of the flight deck door......

<img src="eek.gif" border="0"> <img src="rolleyes.gif" border="0"> ...well it always USED to work...... back ..in the ..day.... ok I give up.. . :) :)

[akerosid]

I appreciate the negatives, particularly in relation to cockpit avionics, but I was working on a scenario of being able to obstruct access to the cockpit for long enough to allow an aircraft to make an emergency landing; if that had to be done with secondary instruments, so be it; once the aircraft is down, the b******s can be taken in for a chat and a good beating and any (aircraft!) damage should be rectifiable. THIS WOULD STRICTLY BE AN OPTION OF VERY LAST RESORT.

[BigJETS]

It would only work in a movie script. Its justnotgoing to slow down any group who wishes to get in a cockpit bad enough. Stronger doors is the answer as far as that goes. . .I think pax play the most important role in this sort of threat. If called on to act in some situation, no matter how frightening it may appear,PAX need to protect the control of the airplane. If you have 6 terrorists on a plane, then you need AT LEAST 1 big guy to tackle each of those M'F's into powder, and it need not matter who you step on to do it! There would be no time to pick volunteers my friends. Its a horrible thought to imagine being in that situation--thats why you cant think!thats the reality, I think we can all agree.

[Phoenix_X]

"It's not highly likely that these people are going to have the intelligence or background knowlegde to wear special gloves if they are in going to down the plane by intruding the flight deck"

Well, the sept 11 people were well trained and prepared. If someone plans to take control to use a/c as weapons, they will be intelligent enough to do just that. That's the danger here....

[Long Range Cruise]

I must agree with you there Phoenix. I 'spose the only option is to put a lock on the door with a specific number combination. But whatever we all come up with, theres bound to be a way to get round it. What i just mentioned could be over come by holding a flight attendant at knife/gun point and demanding the number combination. Maybe another option would be to have an alarm located secretly and can be activated by the non threatend hostage to alert the crew that something is going on back there. At least then one of the crew at the sharp end could get OUT and help and add to the force to stop the terrorist getting to the front. I prefere this idea myself.

[boofhead]

Why not do what me and Mrs Boof do when we want some time away from the kids? Put vaseline on the door knob!

[RatherBeFlying]

You need a door good for at least five minutes, which should give you enough time to get out those Uzis loaded with frangible bullets. <img src="mad.gif" border="0"> And in the meantime you can dump the cabin so nobody will be standing unless they've got portable oxy.

As I've said before, you really need TWO strong doors to protect against a suprise strongman rush. The space between must be clear of passengers and the outer door secured whenever the cockpit door is opened.

[GE 90]

Sept 11 has shown that all the usual thoughts on hijackers can now be thrown out the window. Who would have thought anyone would deliberatly crash the aircraft. Before if you all remained calm and followed their demands then most would survive. Now you must assume the worst and use the best form of defence - attack.. .Strong cockpit doors are one answer. CCTV with panic buttons is another giving vital time to act. I think we would need some well thought out mods to prevent auto oxygen deployment if we dump the pressure. Mind you a cabin climb above 6000ft /min would be pretty dabilitating so there's another posibility. . .Like the chute idea though. Into a bombproof container and fill with Halon as a precaution against fire.