Associated Press
DENVER — United Airlines said Wednesday it will train pilots to use stun guns to defend their cockpits even though the devices haven’t been approved by federal aviation officials.
The nation’s second-biggest airline will hold one-day training sessions beginning in April for its 9,000 pilots in Denver and other hub cities, including Chicago and San Francisco, said company spokesman Joe Hopkins.
Flight attendants will be trained in self-defense and helping passengers in the event of a terrorist attack but will not be taught how to use the Taser stun guns.
In November, United, which lost two planes Sept. 11, became the first major U.S. carrier to announce plans to use stun guns on its planes. The airline purchased 1,300 of them for about $1 million.
The guns can fire two electronic charges lasting five seconds that disable attackers for up to a few minutes, allowing them to be handcuffed or subdued, said Phillips Smith, chairman of Taser International, which is based in Scottsdale, Ariz.
"I think they’re going to prove to the government that this is a good idea," said Smith, a retired military pilot.
The Tasers will be kept in locked boxes in cockpits. Unlike firearms, there is little chance stun guns can be misfired and damage a plane, Hopkins said.
With government approval, Hopkins expects the devices to be in place by the end of summer.
Transportation Secretary Norman Minetta will make the final decision after staffers at the Federal Aviation Administration and the newly formed Transportation Security Administration review about 10,000 comments from the public, FAA spokesman Alan Kennitcer said.
Capt. Herb Hunter, spokesman for the Air Line Pilots Association, said installing stun guns is a good step toward improving flight security but worries about how effective they would be against someone who is wearing thick clothing or if more than one person breaks into the cockpit.
He said he hopes officials will allow some pilots to carry handguns.
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