FAA searching ways to secure jet cockpits

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar

Los Angeles Times

WASHINGTON — Replacing today’s flimsy airline cockpit doors with sturdier models capable of thwarting hijackers has emerged as a top priority of an emergency advisory panel to Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, government and industry officials say.

The Federal Aviation Administration has begun soliciting plans for a secure cockpit from engineering design companies. Boeing has assigned its engineers to study the issue.

But unless the FAA is ready to mandate stiffer doors, door frames, hinges and locks, the industry may balk at the cost, which one executive estimated at $50,000 per aircraft.

Hardened cockpit doors are just about the only physical change to jetliners now under discussion that might deter the sorts of hijackings that culminated in last Tuesday’s attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Otherwise, attention is focused on procedural changes such as passenger screening and baggage checks.

"Unauthorized cockpit access is our primary concern," Airline Pilots Association spokesman John Mazor said Tuesday. "Our first priority is getting stronger, more secure designs approved and in place."

In the past, the association argued that strong locks could hamper a pilot’s quick escape in a crash and turn the cockpit into a coffin.

Until the FAA approves a completely redesigned door, Mazor said the union was endorsing the temporary use of deadbolt locks that cannot be opened from outside the cockpit. It is unclear whether the airlines will install such locks, since Mineta has promised a decision on permanent changes in a matter of weeks.

Along with new doors would come more restrictive procedures for the crew. Access to the cockpit by flight attendants would be limited, and pilots would not be able to walk into the passenger cabin at will.

Physically reinforcing the cockpit is not as simple as it sounds, aviation experts say. For example, in the event of a rapid decompression of the cabin or cockpit, a completely sealed door could become dislodged and sucked through the plane like a missile, risking incapacitating injury or catastrophic damage to the aircraft.

But some experts say the materials and technology are readily available to create a secure cockpit that would also satisfy safety concerns.

New Jersey-based Galaxy Scientific Corp. says it has already designed such a door and is supplying the specifications to the FAA, said company president Jimmy Yoh.

Yoh said his company’s doors and door frames use a lightweight but bulletproof material made partly of aluminum and produced by Alcoa. The locks and hinges are similar to those used in bomb-resistant cargo containers, which are also built by Galaxy Scientific. A venting system allows the air pressure in the cockpit and cabin to equalize.

Boeing spokesman Tim Neal said his company was also focusing on ideas for improved cockpit security, not only in new aircraft but in the 13,687 it already has in service. "But we think it is premature to discuss any changes," Neal said, "and I don’t think there will be a whole lot of public information, for obvious reasons."

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