Does any pilot reading this honestly believe that security at their home airport is so tight that it would prevent them ,with their inside knowledge , from getting a weapon on board an aircraft if they really wanted to ?
I'm sure most of us have thought how it could be done.Who else knows some of these holes in the system?
An armed pilot is simply the very last line of defense ,ideally any threat would be dealt with before the pilot is forced to consider shooting.Improved screening ,better intelligence on threats ,a highly trained and armed sky marshall ,reinforced locked door to the cockpit etc. , but what happens when all this has failed ?
Imagine the following situation ;hijacked aircraft ,sky marshall over powered terrorists making for the flight deck ,you are on board with your family.Would you like the last chance offered by your pilots being armed or not ?