OK, gents, you lot seem to need some reassurance, so let me do my best.
I am not a member of the program, but I've flown with some who are. Here's what I feel comfortable telling in public:
- The training is thorough. It is done by the federal government, at the same school that teaches Border Patrol officers.
- They don't take everybody. They certainly don't take "cowboys." Those are the first ones scratched off the list. Screening is very thorough, takes awhile and involves face-time with at least one psychiatrist.
- The weapons/ammo are standard issue, very modern and quite safe. Don't know what happened in this case but it was most certainly not dropped. I would suspect the FFDO was checking the chambered round - not a standard maneuver but I've heard some guys do it.
- There are more FFDO's now than federal skymarshals. The program costs the government next to nothing. And we haven't had an aircraft attacked in six-and-a-half years. Would you have thought this a good thing on September 12, 2001?
- We know it's an american thing. Got it. You don't understand. Got that too. If you want you can do a search and read some of the thousands of PPrune posts on guns and america in the archives.....