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Carrying Knives On Planes

The U.S. Government is delaying the implementation of a rule that would again permit passengers to carry small knives on commercial flights.

Three days before the rule was to have taken effect, the Transportation Security Administration said it would consider additional input from a group that includes aviation-related interests and law enforcement experts. Ref. CNN

Planes Knives Carrying

This is absolutely crazy! We are NOT prepared for that! I repeat, we are NOT prepared to do that until we have measures in place to deal with all this. So far, I am not seeing that so it is not something I could support.

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I disagree. For what reason a passenger might want to bring a small knife on a plane? I can hardly see a situation in which such a tool could become of utmost importance during a flight. Bringing a knife inside the travel bag is already allowed and, in my opinion, that should be enough. I would rather think about lighters and small bottles. They are of practical use and is silly forbidding to a mom to bring a small plastic bottle of water for her children.

Planes Knives Carrying

I don't see the problem with allowing small knives on board. They aren't any more dangerous than many other items on the plane and wouldn't be a prime tool for an aggressor. The main issue is that many people have these with them on a daily basis and forget to exclude them from their person when they fly. They are left with the choice to throw the item away or miss their flight. A steel toed boot is a much more dangerous weapon if we are looking at every possible thing an attacker might use. The best protection is an alert staff during pre-boarding and flights. That is how you prevent and curtail incidents.

Anyway, Captains can be armed now so that would take care of any knife wielders in the crowd.

Planes Knives Carrying

I believe the problem about captains being armed is connected to the danger of bringing firearms in a pressurized environment. They should be provided blunt weapons or knives which both require a specialized training program to be used effectively.
An old issue that often emerges after criminal acts but that will probably never find a real application.

Carrying Knives On Planes

Bruconero makes a good point about breaches in a pressurized environment and the difficulty of effectively using a specialized weapon like a knife or cudgel. Perhaps something like a shotgun loaded with rock salt or 'bean bag' rounds would bridge the gap as it would require only firearms training and would not be able to penetrate the plane. It would also be a boon in that it would likely not be deadly to the aggressor.

Though, I must admit that talking about fire-fights on a plane in flight is making me queasy. Perhaps there is another way that doesn't endanger the other passengers as much and can still protect them from aggressors.

Carrying Knives Planes

Is not easy to find a solution that can grant in-flight security without creating collateral problems. Non-lethal weapons are an idea, but they still leave too much space for mistakes that can become fatal. A salt charged shotgun can still kill if used from a short distance, devices that release electrical discharges can mess up with the electronics of the plane and so on. Virtually everything has drawbacks that can lead to disaster.

On the other side, prevention is not easy and often is not welcomed by the passengers when the rules become too strict. Is a difficult subject indeed.

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You do realize that weapons, including firearms, have been on flights for years now and are still carried on them even now.

Rather off topic, but...
As for fatal things occurring, like a flight crashing, that is going to happen from time to time no mater how many precautions we take. I even have a few thoughts on how such problems actually help humanity as a whole, but that would be a separate discussion all together probably.

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Persephone: Please use the Offtopic Tags so that the Thread maintains the SAME subject matter and does not develop into another Topic. See Constructive Posting Policy.