Interesting question. Here's an excerpt from email I sent to friends:
It's 1:19 am Wed for me. Halifax is bedding down thousands of passengers from Europe. I'm still in shock. I'm wondering why the second two planes weren't shot down as soon as authorities realized kamakazi suicide attacks were the plan. I guess it surprised everyone, but still, aren't certain air force commanders supposed to consider ALL airspace threats? Don't hijacked planes usually get free jet fighter escorts? Why don't the journalists on tv ask this question?
I checked the Professional Pilots Rumour Network on the Web. There were some thoughts there. One I liked: Maybe we should just seal the cockpits off from the cabin. Access through the outside of the fuselage only.
Another idea: secret agents on every flight - no one knows which seat.
My idea: Lets put some difficult-to-destroy (or find) cameras in the flight cabins and broadcast their signals to recorders on the ground. Surely we could do that now at a reasonable cost. At least we could then see how many hijackers it takes, how they behave and how the passengers behave.
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later thoughts...
It seems many are crying for vengeance on Afganistahn. Well, if America does it, lets hope it's not in the faceless cowardly way that their leaders criticize - from the sky that is. The Afgan people are victims of their government, just as much as were Cambodians under Pol Pot. If the US will take this oportunity to liberate them, smiting the terrorist camps etc. along the way, then go to it. Otherwise, pray for our souls if we simply bomb them as we did Iraq.