NEW YORK CITY - Nearly a year has passed since the worst act of terrorism in America's history. The World Trade Center site is clear, the sky above is empty. And fear of another deadly attack remains. A so-called miscommunication between pilot and air traffic controllers recently led the government to scramble two F-16s to escort a jet to Baltimore-Washington airport.
America and its friends must prevent terrorists ever again from turning a civilian aircraft into a de facto cruise missile. Yet airline security remains a leaky sieve. Security personnel routinely miss weapons and simulated explosives. Controls over who works for the airlines and provides airport services are weak. It's time to arm pilots.
Many are former military personnel. And, explained Stephen Luckey of the Air Line Pilots Association to Congress: They "are willing and prepared to assume the responsibility for training and carrying a weapon."