My mother called me yesterday and asked me what I would have done if I was faced with the same situation. I just said I would have tried to do exactly the same. You have to. The lucky thing out of this is the ******** didn't go for the flight deck during the service, when probably no one was in the forward galley. The CSM, as with all the other crew on this flight are hero's, they prevented what could have been an absolute disaster. But they were just doing their job. That is what we are trained for. (however our hijack training can never be precise, it's too unpredictable). Passengers may now realise we are here primarily for their safety, not to put up with their bloody winging about cold coffee!!
I fly sometimes with the new reinforced doors, and even when I am let in they are a ****** to open. This incident proves that you dont need a gun to take control. The sooner they get these doors installed on all aircraft the better. I have known passengers to open the flight deck door by accident looking for the loo.
I have learnt now to never go out in the cabin without another crew member having easy access to the forward cabin area. This incident highlights the importance of having all areas of the cabin under observation, at all times. Please, we obviously need more crew, because this will be the start of copy cat individuals who want to do the same.
I know we have sky marshalls on our flights, but where were they here? Our government asseses destinations and routes by risk factor, and probably place these guys on flights that are considered possible targets. Now you would never have suggested Launceston as a risk, well if you are gaining control of a plane for the purpose of suicide and death of hundreds of other souls, would you care where the plane was flying? I want marshalls on every flight. I don't want to know who or where they are, but I would like to know they are there if I need them. This will happen again, thanks to the media telling everyone how easy it is to bring a piece of wood onto a plane.