A Simple Effective Way to Hijack-Proof Airplanes
A simple, inexpensive and effective way to prevent airplane hijacking is by having two strong metal walls with two separate unaligned doors between the cockpit and the cabin and making sure both doors are locked shut before takeoff and throughout the entire flight.
The inner wall and door could be made of one or two steel meshes with kevlar or similar bullet-proof materials sandwiched between the two meshes. The outer wall and door could also be equally strong with both walls a part of the aircraft's basic frame. The gap of about two 2-3 feet between the two walls may be left unused in a retrofitted airplane. In new designs, this space could be used to hold a pilot's bathroom, baggage and their meal refrigerator. A video camera could allow the pilot to see in the cabin.
A single door, no matter how strong, would not work, since hijackers can purchase front-row first class seats and as soon as the pilot opens the door even for a second (say, to go to the bathroom or receive a meal), two of potential hijackers can grab, attack or wrestle him while the other two can thus slip into the cockpit and hijack the plane.
But a double-wall system will overcome this possibility. To come out, a pilot would first check the cabin in his video camera, come out through the first door, which the co-pilot will then lock from inside, and then come out of the second door and lock it too. This strong barrier between cabin and cockpit and ordering pilots to keep both doors locked while moving would make hijacking virtually impossible.
Nobody would be able to get in past the outer door without heavy machinery (which should be caught at check-in). Even pounding or other violence on the outer door would afford the pilots an ample warning that an attacker was on board, allowing him time to radio the ground and arrange landing or other help. Even if an hour or so later they get past the outer door, they would then face the second inner door, by which time the plane would hopefully had an emergency landing.
If hijackers cannot get into the cockpit, they cannot hijack the plane. If they cannot hijack it, they cannot use the airplane, loaded with over a hundred people, to hold hostage or worse, as a freely obtained cruise missile with a power of several thousand tons of TNT to attack lucrative targets.
The fear that terrorists will threaten to shoot a passenger is not valid because even if they have sneaked in a small gun, they can only kill at most 2-3 passengers, for which they are likely to face the death-penalty, which does not usually satisfy their larger aims. Terrorists don't want to die for killing only a few, and besides, they can do something like this in the mall, so why go through all this trouble to kill just a few people on a plane?
Had this system been implemented earlier, the hijackings and horrific attacks on the World Trade Center would probably never have occured. The terrorists, watching the pilots' doors wide open during previous flights, saw an "open door" to hijacking.
A common excuse given for our nation's failure to implement this system is: What about financing? Who is going to foot the bill?
How will this system be financed? Can we afford it? Airlines are going bankrupt!!
But there is a way the system could be designed to pay for itself.
For instance, since this is an issue of "national interest", a special law can be passed to allow airlines to raise money by issuing tax-exempt bonds backed by the govt., like Munis. The government could alternatively start a GSE (government sponsored enterprise) to raise money or to lend money to the airlines.
Every passenger will be charged a surcharge which may be called, say, 0911 surcharge or safe-sky charge, to pay for the double doors (say $50 for a domestic flight, $100 for an international flight). This collection will be used by the airlines to repay these bonds. With this system in place, passengers are more likely to fly and most would gladly pay for the additional security and the peace of mind knowing they are flying on a hijack-proof aircraft. Public confidence in flying would be restored-more passengers would mean more revenue for the airlines. In fact, this would an excellent way for the airlines to prevent bankruptcy!
What about in the event of a fire? How can the pilots be pulled out of a burning cockpit? In case of a retro-fitted aircraft, there are two options: a. The fire-fighters will have to enter the cockpit by breaking the windows b. An electromagnetic lever can be used to unlock both these locks from two possible sources i) a cockpit fire sequence would include this switch from the cock-pit, by the pilot or the co-pilot. ii) A small switch could be placed in a small vaulted space covered by a panel outside the aircraft, say between the first door and the cockpit window, which would activate this lever to "unlatch" the cockpit doors and allow the firefigthers to get in and rescue the pilots. iii) A "HIJACK SEQUENCE" switch in the cockpit can also be placed to disallow the above lever from operating which will be used in a "do or die" situation when an hijacking has occurred. Option (iii) is best done in a newly designed plane.
Had this system been implemented earlier, the hijackings and the subsequent horrific attacks on the World Trade Center would probably never have occured. The terrorists, watching the pilots' doors wide open during previous flights, saw an "open door" to hijacking.
I hope that the US government agencies, in this case, the FAA will mandate all aircrafts have this double wall, double door locked system with immediate effect and make hijackings a thing of the past. Otherwise, I am afraid, international terrorists, having found out that hijacking and killing 5000+ people can be so easily done in the U.S. with a couple of box-cutters, are likely to tempted to repeat similar attacks. I hope we can prevent this tragic event from recurring by mandating a double-wall between cockpit and cabin immediately. Otherwise, those who ignore history are bound to relive it. I don't think our Nation can afford to be complacent much longer.
Our government officials seem to take action only when there is a public outcry about an issue. Those who care about this issue, please consider writing about it to your local newspapers, congressmen, the airlines and the FAA. You can mention this site to them so they can review it for more detailed information. Thank you for your time.