Regarding Whirlybird's suggestion that in future passengers will be "prepared to take risks to overcome hijackers"
Perhaps, but when people are placed in groups there is a tremendous amount of behavioural inertia created. Individuals find it very difficult to take action that makes them stand out from the crowd. Experiments by social psychologists have demonstrated this time and time again. For example, a classic experiment involved subjects sitting in a room with half a dozen other people who, unknown to the subject, were collaborating with the experimenter. Smoke was introduced into the room under a door but the subjects rarely said anything about this or did anything as long as the others all sat there ignoring it.
So sure, once someone tackles a hijacker others will join in but who is going to be the first to make a move?
I have a suggestion based on another phenomenon identified by social psychologists, namely the human tendency to display obedience to authority figures. Airline pilots command a lot of respect among the general public and people will tend to do what they tell them. Having decided that attacking the hijackers offers the only hope of getting out of the situation alive the crew may thus be able to get the ball rolling. Passengers will generally be extremely reluctant to take the initiative but if you tell them to attack the hijackers in order to save the aircraft some will almost certainly follow your instruction and then others will undoubtedly join in the attack.
[ 17 September 2001: Message edited by: stagger ]