| |
| |
|
Aviation Information |
|
|
|
Airline Security; Stewardesses The Last Line Of Defense!
Introduction: It might come as a chock to many people, including the Stewardesses, but the fact remains that in today's Airline Industry, the Stewardess is the last line of defense! In the 11th of September terrorist attacks, on the WTC and Pentagon, the first victims were the Stewardesses. Savagely attacked by the terrorist on their way to the cockpit's and tortured to pressure pilots, to comply with the terrorists demands. More mundane, but daily occurrences in the International Airline Industry, is unruly passengers. Who endangers the safety of co-passengers and the aircraft due to mental disturbances, alcohol consumption, stress or disregard for airline regulations, such as remaining seated during takeoff and landing etc. or smoking in prohibited areas on smokeless flights. Stewardesses are expected to deal with these travails, as first responders and can if necessary call on the Pilots for help, if the situation is beyond their control. However, first the Stewardesses have to intervene and are often the victim, of verbal and physical abuse from the unruly passengers. After the 9-11 attacks pilots; should show precaution before leaving the cockpit, to assist in calming or restraining unruly passengers. The incident could well be a diversion to get the pilots to open, the now locked cockpits, whereupon conspirators of the unruly passenger/s will attack to get access to the cockpit. Onboard Security: On the majority of flights, there are no Air Marshals, so problems have to be faced by the Stewardesses. Who either have deal with the matter on their own, or wait for the pilot or co-pilot to assist, or occasionally call upon the assistance from other passengers. As these problems, have been around for decades and will be in the future, it is simply necessary for the Stewardesses to receive training in Self-Defense and Arrest techniques. These skills should simply be part of the standard Stewardess training program, with regular retraining. Stewardesses have not always just been service minded, multi language, pretty women; when the Icelandic Airline was originally established, all Stewardesses where former Nurses, as that was thought to be necessary, in order to deal with any medical emergencies. My opinion is that today, a similar concern is valid and that is that the Stewardesses, should be able to deal with current security threats as well. It would also be wise, to continue the current trend of adding more Stewards to the crews and preferable to the level of half of the crew. To give the Stewardesses an extra advantage, a non-lethal weapon such as a mini stun-gun or expandable baton, could be issued and used together with handcuffs etc. CCTV should be installed, with cameras placed in strategic positions, could be supplemented with RF frequency pen-type cameras carried on the Stewardesses uniforms. Monitors should be place in all crew areas; this would give added security, not only to the Stewardesses but also to the pilots, who would be able to respond earlier, to a potential security threat from unruly passengers or terrorists. Now, some will argue that training Stewardesses, to deal with terrorist incidents are wrong and the focus should be on passenger and baggage security screening. To those I will say yes, I fully agree, to the necessity of pre-screening of passengers and baggage and an increase in Airport security procedures is necessary. However, the current efforts are focused primarily, on simply throwing in more security personnel and making them federal employees, which in reality has done little to actually increase security. This is a fact that is evident by the many cases of persons carrying weapons onboard aircrafts anyway. This fact has repeatedly been proven by security inspections, where security agents, have boarded aircrafts with weapons and explosives etc. There is also the fact, that the Airlines often have little control over the actual Airport security and close to no-control at foreign Airports. In many foreign airports the airlines simply have to rely on the local security and the occasional inspections, by official institutions such as the FAA etc. There is also the real threat, of terrorist co-operators working within the Airline service industry, which has access to the Aircrafts and could place weapons or bombs onboard the Aircraft, to be used by the terrorists. And finally, the violent unruly passenger, will always be part of the environment the Stewardesses faces. Perhaps these incidents can be reduced, by enforcing higher penalties and prison terms on those who violate Airline regulations in any manner. But these procedures are going to take time and meanwhile the problem remains, in the hands of the Stewardesses; Our last line of defense! Dan Sommer is the author of the SD Agent, a Surveillance Detection Manual, he has been part of the process of designing, implementing and training a SD team for a European Embassy. His 17 years security career started in 1986 and he has active experience from military, security, close protection, counter assault team and surveillance detection operations. Since 1994 the author has been writing training material's for security companies and police departments. He has been instructing courses world-wide for security officers, bodyguards, police officers, counter assault teams and surveillance detection units. Dan currently acts as the International Director of the World Federation of Bodyguards and has a private business as a Security & Protection Consultant. His work can be viewed at his website http://www.DanSommer.Biz
MORE RESOURCES:
Aviation - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Fuselage Mounted Laser Vortex Enhancer Directed to Airfoils DARPA has developed a small laser cannon, just like Star Wars to use as a weapon in a fighter plane for air to air combat, destroying enemy missiles or perhaps using a combination later on of Argon or CO2 (depending on altitude) for close air support. Recently it was announced that they would put this new airborne laser system onto fighter jets. Entering Business Aviation, Part V: Tips on Finding Work I will not pretend that this is the easiest topic to write about. In fact, my knowledge of how one finds work as a private flight attendant is based chiefly on what others have shared with me. Cleaning Air Cargo Containers If you own a pressure washing business, janitorial service or truck washing business you owe it to yourself to look into the cleaning of air cargo containers. The cleaning of air-cargo containers is a necessity and it is a consistent business. Airport Travel Tips: Reducing Waiting Times Key Travel TipsFollowing these tips will help you reduce your wait time at the security checkpoint.Before you go to the Airport? Do not pack or bring Prohibited Items to the airport. Sex in a Cessna, Part III So far we have learned the safety aspect of setting the aircraft up in non-restricted airspace, with auto-pilot and away from other aircraft traffic. Now we will describe sexual positions, which will help you maintain controlled flight without restricting visibility. How to Save on Airfare The Internet has provided a revolution in the way people shop for airfares. What used to be the province only of connected travel agents is now the province of every Internet connected traveler. De Ice Boots Preventative Care If you have de-ice boots on your aircraft you realize that for them to last you will need to keep them in new condition. In days gone buy aviators and aircraft mechanics have used all sorts of things to keep them in mint condition. FAA Intervention in Privatized Space Flight is Ridiculous Burt Rutan and his team of designers, engineers and test pilots at Scaled Composites did something no private group had ever done. They proved that private space flight is feasible and safe. Aerodynamic Inflatable Wing Gates for STOL Low speed flight characteristic are crucial to safety. Those aircraft that have good flight characteristics at low speeds are favored by pilots and the companies, military, NGO or private individuals who operate them. Secrets to Finding Really Cheap Airline Tickets Online Knowing where to find really cheap airline tickets is the first step to shopping for the best airfares online but once you've overcome this little hurdle on your race to getting really cheap airline tickets you'll need to know how to book the cheapest airfares.Let's say you've found a great website that offers really cheap airline tickets online - like lastminutetravel. Business Aviation Networking Notes The process of finding out about a job, getting interviewed, and eventually receiving an offer for employment starts with networking. By networking I don't mean sending hundreds of copies of your resume unsolicited to H. Airbus A-380 is Pretty Big You know the Airbus A-380 is so huge it takes 2 hours to load and unload and that is if you are rushing the people on and off like cattle. The aircraft holds more fuel than a Boeing 727 weighs. Point to Point VS Spoke and Hub? Air Taxi Boeing it is said took a big gamble in predicting the future of air travel. Instead of going bigger like Airbus and building an aircraft like the A380, the biggest airliner ever built; The Boeing Company decided to go for a more efficient smaller aircraft with better materials and better range. Flying As A Hobby Ask a room full of people what hobby they have and you will get as many answers as there are people. Others will confess that they don't have a hobby. NASA SATS for Point-to-Point Air Travel Solutions It appears NASA's studies of the future of air travel and air taxi concepts. By studying these possible futures we may find our selves ready to accept flying cars in everyone's garage. Private Jets: 4 Leaders in Fractional Flying Fractional flying, you say. Is that division? Well, sort of. Fuel Costs and Air Fares Set To Rocket After Hurricane Katrina Punishes The US It now looks certain that Hurricane Katrina will push fuel prices - and air fares - up through the roof.Hurricane Katrina has just killed hundreds of people, and it could well be thousands of people that we don't know about already. Concorde Crash Conspiracy - It Could Have Been Prevented In studying the Concorde crash the investigators determined it was caused by debris on the runway, which had fallen off a Continental Airlines Aircraft, which went down the same runway prior to the Concorde. Some thought the crash was an International Terrorist Attack. International Corporate Catering Guide One of the more challenging aspects of being a flight attendant is providing in-flight service excellence to your customers. When operating out of familiar territory selecting a highly regarded caterer is usually not a problem. Top Ten Secrets to Saving Big Money in the Airline Flights Do you know that some people travel around the country and abroad, for both business and pleasure, and save bundles of money in the process?They do that by using little known ways of really taking advantage of the most popular form of transportation - airline flights.They don't rely on the ever-famous "airfare price-wars".
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
