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WCNC.com | Top Stories
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It was a full flight. And airline spokeswoman said the plane has been taken out of service to make sure it is safe to return to flight. A Transportation Safety Administration spokeswoman reached by WCNC Sunday said the pilot is part of TSA’s Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) program, which trains pilots to carry guns on flights. Andrea McCauley said the gun discharged in the cockpit, but she could not release how the gun was being transported at the time. She did not release the pilot’s name, but said he was authorized to carry the weapon and was last requalified in the FFDO program last November. A statement from TSA said the airplane was never in danger, and the TSA and the Federal Air Marshals Service are investigating the incident.
Maybe he should keep his bullet in his pocket.
“A US Airways pilot’s gun accidentally discharged during a flight…”
What? The gun discharged all by itself? I don’t think so. The idiot pilot or some other moron was fiddling around with the gun and THEY discharged the gun.
Jesus…
#1 ….Absolutely correct.
The headline should read “Pilot’s gun carelessly fired on US Airways flight”
Or, maybe someone from Coach Class tried to use the First Class lavatory.
Well somebody screwed up, that much is obvious but that is why a firearm should always be pointed in a safe direction.
If you spend any time in a police department or around firearms you will witness an accidental discharge.
I’ll bet it was a Glock. Those “safe tiggers” aren’t.
“A US Airways pilot’s gun accidentally discharged ”
More like negligently discharged. Accidental discharges (where the weapon’s safeties fail and it fires without pulling the trigger) are extremely rare with modern pistols. These are virtually always caused by user failing to not pull the trigger.
#3 GigG – I say horseshit. Back it up with facts.
I carry a Glock and I know it will not fire unless the trigger is pulled.
Now if by “safe triggers aren’t” you mean the gun fires when some dipshit pulls the trigger then you are correct. They are not safe for someone with their finger on the trigger.
Maybe you did mean “safe tiggers” in which case I don’t Winnie the Pooh either…..
#3 – “If you spend any time in a police department or around firearms you will witness an accidental discharge.”
Really? I was around guns my whole life and never once saw that. I’m assuming he was carrying a semi-auto pistol. To discharge he would have had to 1st chamber a round. That is NO accident. That is gross incompetence.
Could have been worse. There is a story about a cop entering a restroom stall. Closing stall door, he hangs his semi-auto pistol on the coat hook by the trigger guard. In doing so he accidentally fired the weapon. The next seven, or so, shots were the result of the weapon bouncing around on the hook.
Martha and the Vandellas said it best “Nowhere to run to, baby. Nowhere to hide”
Why am I involved now?
#3,
any decent holster covers the trigger. A glock will not fire unless the trigger is pulled. The glock has three safty’s, and yes, they are all disengaged when you pull the trigger.
Revolvers dont have an external saftey, and the Glock is no different.
I have a feeling that this guy had his gun out of the holster. Not the sort of thing one should do in a cockpit, unless someone is beating down the door.
#6, you have been watching too much tv. I dont think you would find a police officer in the country who doesn’t carry his semi automatic pistol with a round in the chamber.
#9 “you have been watching too much tv. I dont think you would find a police officer in the country who doesn’t carry his semi automatic pistol with a round in the chamber.”
Read much? Where in the article does it say this guy was an on duty police office?
I know police officers & have done their firearms training. I know of none that keep a round chambered unless they are in a very high crime area…
Police sidearms are chambered while in service, full mag load plus one.
Thank goodness the cockpit has nothing essential for flight that could have been damaged.
The Glocks “Safe Trigger” is a mini trigger on the main trigger. I’ll be dollars to donuts that the pilot reached into his flight bag and the moved the pistol (that was not in a holster) and pulled the trigger.
As far as police not carrying with a round in the chamber plese let us know what that department is. I’ll be on the look out for cops killed when they can’t get a round in during a scuffle when they have to use one hand to hold off the suspect or they just jam it by not getting a full stroke on the slide. The damn thing might as well not be loaded at all.
1911 one in the pipe, cocked and locked.
“…could not release how the gun was being transported at the time.”
Also mad no mention on how either…
Fire arms properly maintained, transported and handled don’t accedentally discharge.
FACT, not opinion.
The safe trigger, is only one of three safteys in the Glock. The others are primarily involved with preventing the gun from firing if it is dropped.
If this pilot was in fact carrying a pistol loose in his flight bag, then I am very dissapointed
Guns don’t kill people…pilots do.
#16 OmegaMan – now that was funny.
I’ve been in the Army six years, and have both heard stories and seen negligent discharges. And they are all because the user, even someone who should’ve known better, wasn’t paying attention. Like the other platoon’s sergeant (and the troop’s senior scout) during civil defense ops at Minneapolis St. Paul international (outside patrol only, luckily) charging his rifle three times, dropping the mag, and pulling the trigger while holding it at an angle in a vertical clearing barrel, sending an m855 round through the side into the ground.
Or a lieutenant who charged, fired into the barrel, didn’t know why, and kept repeating it.
More likely than not the pilot did something he shouldn’t have without thinking about it. And yes, if he had a Glock, that’s one less step for someone to do something dumb.
Okay, I’ll share this one.
My ex was a police officer. She had a very bad habit of clearing the department shotgun of all the rounds and then pulling the trigger to amke sure it was unloaded.
See where I’m going with this?
One night during a separation (our marriage) she comes to my house saying that the last round blew the bathroom door knob off and left about a 6-8 inch hole. I went over and recovered all but two of the double 00 buckshot out of the bathroom wall and window frame. The two the busted the window set sail for parts unknown.
I tried to warn her time and again that she try checking the shotgun a different way but pulling the trigger is just soooo easy.
sigh…..
I’ll be real interested in hearing “the rest of the story…”
I’ll bet the person, who was REQUIRED to take a certification class to legally bring his firearm on a plane will have a TON of inquiries and then lose his job over it. There are very few accidents.
Now we know that US Airways Pilots are as stupid and incompetent as the rest of their employees.
SteelCobra, the sargent suprises me. The Lt does not.
“Gun loose in dufflebag” is most likely it. They don’t belong loose anywhere but in a safe. (Keeps them home on Saturday nights and away from bad influences, like Lorcans.)
To all those who pointed out the difference between “accidental discharge” and “negligent discharge,” kudos. I’m a firm believer in that the only way there could ever be an “accidental discharge” is if there is a defect in the manufacturing of the firearm (such as a slam fire – all you SKS and AK owners know what I’m talking about).
I have a concealed carry permit, and I always carry a full mag with one in the pipe. I’m careful as hell when I handle it, and I’ve never had a single incident.
I discovered today that they have regulations requiring them to wear the gun while in the cockpit, then lock the gun in a lockbox when they leave the cockpit. Thats a lot of gun handling, and lots of oppertunities for something like this to happen.
I handle my firearm everyday, it is chambered unless being cleaned or being repaired or when told to do so during training,I have never had an a.d.. The piolot in question was doing something he should not have been doing in flight.This also should bring up another point..if the piolot wants to be a cop and carry a badge he should quit and become a cop, otherwise, he should stick to being a piolot and train like a piolot.
#24
Are you saying that if someone who is in a career which has a history of being attacked should quit and be a cop instead of protecting themselves?
Cab driver? Stop and rob clerk? Airline pilot?
Self defense is a basic human right.
Problem #1,
There was a round in the chamber. The only time there should be a round in the chamber is if the gun is intended to be used. Accidents, whether negligent or “other” happen. If there is a round in the chamber it is much more likely to discharge.
All the gun proponents say how careful they are yet even here there are several “stories” related about accidents they heard of. Keeping a round in the chamber is an accident waiting to happen. Maybe that is why several times the number of people are killed / injured by accidental discharges every year than are criminals by a “good” shoot.
Problem#2
There was a gun on a plane that was being handled. The only time a gun should be handled is if it is about to be used or is being moved to / from storage. True, no one was injured by the gun. BUT, there are enough electronics in the cockpit that could have been severely damaged by a bullet to make it a flight hazard.
Problem #3
Too Americans worship guns. Long guns are not a problem. Hand guns are. You want to go hunting, great! Get a long gun. A Glock won’t be of much use unless you just want to finish one off. Your handgun is much more likely to kill your child or grandchild than it will a burglar, bear, or duck.
This worship ignores the Second Amendment. Gun advocates buy handguns for self defense, not to be in the militia.
#27 Problem #1. People like you. Long guns aren’t good for close quarter self defense.
There is a Constitutional right to self defense.
At least read and understand the doc before spouting false info…
#28,
Where is the right to self defense in the Constitution?
Your problem is an inability to read. Problem #1 dealt with a round in the chamber.
Let’s not rush to judge this moron. Oops, already did.
Revolver – no “safety”, round always in the chamber. Higher force required to fire the weapon because of the double action in most defense wheel guns.
Pistol – some have safeties, some don’t. A safety is an interlock that must be disengaged before the weapon can be fired. This obviously takes time. When a group of maniacs is trying to turn your aircraft into a human guided missile time is of the essence.
A round in the tube. A gun without a round in the tube requires its operator to chamber a round which takes time. Please see above.
Cocked and locked. The 1911 firearm is a fine weapon. The large .45 caliber is widely considered one of the best person stopping rounds in the world. However there is a long standing debate regarding carrying the weapon cocked and locked.
This fine firearm is a double action (the trigger cocks and fires the weapon) on the first round and single action (the trigger releases the hammer and fires the weapon) on subsequent rounds. Some owners prefer to carry the weapon with the hammer pulled back to reduce trigger pull and response time. Most who do this use the weapon’s safety.
It is easy for an untrained or reckless operator to negligently fire a 1911 carried in this configuration.
Bottom line, the person in question should have their license pulled, permanently for being a moron. When cops can’t be everywhere the right to self defense takes precedence.