Recruiting and training air marshals to protect airline flights is one of the biggest challenges facing the USA Aaron Karp / Washington DC
One week after suicidal hijackers turned passenger aircraft into weapons of mass destruction, the US Federal Aviation Administration put out the word: air marshals were wanted. More than 110,000 Americans have applied for the job. "I am tough, I'm a good shot with a gun and I am ready," was the message left by one prospective air marshal who phoned FAA headquarters.
While many of the details of the USA's revamped aviation security system took weeks to be agreed upon by policymakers, a rapid and massive expansion of the federal air marshal programme was quickly and widely embraced following the 11 September attacks on New York and Washington DC. The FAA is now sorting through the large pool of applicants and training hundreds - perhaps thousands - of new air marshals.
In addition, the FAA and the US Department of Transportation (DoT) are considering whether to allow pilots to carry guns. Aviation security legislation recently passed by Congress and signed into law by President George Bush grants the DoT the authority to arm pilots, and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) union is pushing for approval.
Before 11 September, placing air marshals on board a large number of flights and arming pilots were ideas to which the FAA did not give the slightest consideration. Although the FAA will not reveal a precise figure, it is widely understood - and not denied by the FAA - that on 11 September there were fewer than 100 US air marshals. The small band of undercover security guards were placed aboard only the most high-risk international flights. And FAA administrator Jane Garvey has said she would have dismissed, without hesitation, the notion of arming pilots if it had been proposed to her on 10 September.
But with commercial airliners now viewed as potential weapons, US officials believe it is imperative to place people on board flights who are willing and able to use deadly force against anyone trying to commandeer an aircraft. As the process for selecting and deploying new air marshals is honed, the FAA is borrowing law enforcement personnel from various US government agencies to work as air marshals on an interim basis.
With so many applicants, it would appear that the FAA can greatly boost air marshal numbers relatively quickly. But not just anyone can do the job, which requires marshals to stay fully alert throughout flights even if, as is usually the case, there nothing dangerous going on. In a worst case scenario, an air marshal must be able to fire a gun with precision inside a narrow fuselage packed with passengers, something firearms experts say is difficult.
At the FAA's Oklahoma City Aeronautical Center, air marshal applications are put through a computer program designed to pinpoint the candidates with the prerequisites for the job. Only US citizens can be air marshals, and former military and law enforcement officials are preferred. All applicants must demonstrate a high level of proficiency with firearms.
Most fail the initial computer scan. Those that do qualify are invited to the FAA's Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey - site of air marshal training - for a rigorous evaluation.
Psychological exams
Prospective air marshals arriving in Atlantic City are first put through psychological and physical exams, followed by a drugs test and background check. Finally, applicants are given a "weapons manipulation test" to determine how accurately they can fire a gun. FAA officials carefully scrutinise a candidate's gun-handling capability, particularly under intense pressure.
"One of the major requirements to become an air marshal is a very high level of accuracy shooting a gun and an ability to handle stress," says the FAA.
If an applicant passes these trials, training commences shortly thereafter. Training lasts 14 weeks, although the FAA is reviewing the training programme to see if it can be condensed so marshals can be deployed on flights as fast as possible.
Air marshals are trained to blend in, appearing to be just another passenger on the flight. But unlike other passengers, who have the luxury of taking a nap or reading a novel, marshals undergo psychological training intended to teach them to stay alert at all times and observe the behaviour of other passengers, looking for danger signs. The mental training also includes developing skills which enable an air marshal to stay calm in dangerous, stressful circumstances.
There are two firing ranges at the Atlantic City facilities, one of which features targets that pop up and fall down when hit by bullets. Marshals-in-training at the ranges are taught to draw and fire guns from a seated position. There is also a "shoot house" in which trainees participate in live fire exercises. The shoot house is configured like an aircraft and is set up to handle safely the discharge of weapons. A Lockheed L-1011 TriStar designated for air marshal training sits on the Atlantic City airport tarmac - during simulated hijackings, trainees shoot paint balls.
While air marshals will not be armed with paint balls, neither will they carry guns loaded with standard bullets. Instead, ammunition will be of a frangible type made of compressed powdered metal designed to immediately disintegrate upon impact with a hard surface, ensuring that bullets will not tear through the fuselage. The frangible bullets are, however, designed to penetrate human flesh.
The exact number of air marshals the FAA is seeking to hire is a closely guarded secret. The FAA cites security concerns as the reason for the secrecy, though it is also possible the exact size of the air marshal programme has not yet been determined.
The new US aviation security lawmerely instructs the DoT to place marshals on any flight it deems necessary, although flights to and from Washington National airport - less than one minute's flying time from the White House, Pentagon, Capitol and several other key US government installations - are all required to have a marshal on board. If an air marshal is not on a particular flight or if a single marshal is overwhelmed by a group of terrorists, then armed pilots could be the answer, says ALPA.
Last line of defence
If the DoT does sanction this move, only those who volunteer to do so and who undergo appropriate training will be armed on the job. Pilots carrying guns will not be expected to run down the aisles of aircraft cabins getting into shootouts with hijackers, says ALPA. "This is strictly the last line of defence," says an ALPA spokesman. "Guns would be used only if the entire aviation security apparatus has already failed and hijackers are battering down the cockpit door."
The most difficult aspect of training pilots to fire guns will be preparing them to be ready mentally to use deadly force, says Ignatius Piazza, owner of the Front Sight firearms training school in Nevada. Front Sight trains law enforcement personnel and others to shoot, and has volunteered to train pilots free of charge.
Because pilots would only use guns if the cockpit was being invaded, all shots would be short-range and thus tactically easy, says Piazza. "The most involved aspect of training would be the mind-set," he explains. "If they have the proper mind-set, we can easily train them to put a bullet between the eyes of a terrorist."
Some airlines have discussed equipping cockpits with stun guns, but Piazza and ALPA president Duane Woerth say that such weapons take about 20 minutes to recharge after each shot. "Stun guns are a knee-jerk reaction by the airlines," contends Piazza. "Police officers would laugh if they were asked to rely on stun guns."
Source: Flight International
