-----Original Message-----
From: Aaron Kozmetsky [mailto:aaron@kozmetsky.com]
Sent: Friday, September 28, 2001 9:19 AM
Subject: new "rules"...


fyi...AK
-----Original Message-----
From: Bryon Sehlke
Sent: Friday, September 28, 2001 8:47 AM
To: 'Aaron Kozmetsky'; 'Chad Muir'
Subject: FW:

some thought a little more on the radical side.  this was forwarded to me by
Walt Cunningham who was an astronaut in the Gemini days.  he's on the texas
aerospace commission with me...
 
 -----Original Message-----
From: Walter Cunningham [mailto:walt@waltercunningham.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2001 4:54 PM

If we all did this our problem would be solved.    Walt  

The message below was sent to an old AF buddy who forwarded it on to me with
the invitation to disseminate as widely as he saw fit. I send it on to you
with the same invitation... It offers some pretty good ideas.. 
********************************************************** 
My name is John Burnett. I am a DC-10 Captain for FedEx. I am also a Police
Officer for the Memphis Police Department. 

My purpose in writing this is to share some of my thoughts regarding actions
a pilot might consider when faced with a modern-day hijacker. These thoughts
are "outside-the-box" when it comes to the way we've all been trained.
Neither the FAA or our companies will suggest these techniques or implement
them as a part of our normal training cycles. They couldn't for fear of
lawsuits. 

I am distributing this via e-mail to buddies I've flown with. I'm asking
them to send it to their circle of friends within the industry, and for you
to send it to yours. I know most of us have e-mail, and I hope this reaches
the next to face the horror of some religious fanatic onboard. 

We have all had "training" in what to do in case of a hijacking; try to keep
the hijacker calm, make him think you're doing what he wants, take him where
ever he wants to go, etc., etc., etc. Save your passengers, your crew, and
your aircraft. 

In an emergency, you will revert to that training. When our unfortunate
peers were faced with the screams of the Flight Attendants and hijacker's
demands to open the cockpit door, their training probably made them open the
door. When the fanatics made demands, their training told them to comply as
best they could. I can only wonder what their thoughts were as they left the
cockpit and were tied up in the back of the plane; what they thought as they
descended over New York.... 

I hope the fanatics had to kill them in their seats and drag their dead
bodies out of the cockpit. But, I bet they did as they were trained to do ..

As you look back over recent hijackings, FedEx, and Egypt Air, and now the
September 11th hijackings, you see a perpetrator who, for one reason or
another wants to take over the airplane and kill himself. Each of these
hijackers, except for the FedEx incident, were successful. They took over
the airplane and killed everyone onboard. 

If you're following the news programs today, you hear a lot about how we
could let these hijackers learn to fly. You would think if knowing how to
fly would guarantee a successful hijacking, Auburn Calloway (the FedEx
hijacker) would have been a hijacker success story. 

Calloway had been a Navy pilot, a martial arts student, a fellow FedEx crew
member, and he took all the weapons he needed: hammers, knives and a spear
gun. He didn't have to overcome any Flight Attendants or demand they open
the cockpit door. He just went back to his bag, took out his hammer came
back into the cockpit and started crushing skulls. 

The crew members on that flight didn't worry about Flight Attendants, they
didn't worry about passengers. All three pilots left the cockpit and fought
a hand-to-hand, life-or-death battle. 

To survive today's hijacker, you cannot worry about your passengers; you
cannot worry about your Flight Attendants. You must develop a mind-set that
everyone onboard - including yourself - is already dead. Because, if the
hijacker is successful in taking over your airplane, not only you, your
crew, your passengers and your aircraft are lost, but thousands on the
ground are at risk. 

One of the reasons the FedEx crew survived, is the extraordinary actions of
the co-pilot. Although he had brain injury, the co-pilot took the DC-10 and
immediately executed a half-roll. This maneuver took the hijacker off his
feet as the Captain and S/O were struggling with him. 

During a point in the maneuver, the hijacker, Captain and S/O were thrown
back behind the cockpit door. When he righted the airplane, the F/O then
left his seat and joined the fight in the galley area of the plane. It was
only after the Captain determined the hijacker was subdued, he returned to
the cockpit and flew the airplane to landing. 

Very few of us have had to confront true evil. Fewer still have seriously
considered taking the life of another human being. I believe this is the
reason the FedEx crew did not kill their attacker. The crew's heroism that
day is beyond belief. And any action that leads to a safe landing and
recovery cannot be argued with. 

But, when the Captain left the F/O and S/O, thinking the situation was under
control, he was mistaken. The F/O and S/O had sustained serious,
life-threatening injuries. The hijacker had not. As the Captain flew the
aircraft, the hijacker, who had surrendered, began the fight anew. 

As the airplane landed, the hijacker was just moments away from overcoming
the two crew members. 

I mention this for your consideration. I would suggest that you make a
conscious decision to kill anyone who tries to take your airplane from you.

Today we are at war. The hijacker who comes through your cockpit door is
going to kill you and everyone onboard. So, how do you do that? What weapons
are available to us as pilots? 

The intercom. Command that all men come forward and fight with the
hijackers. You have many able-bodied men onboard. They are sitting in shock
not knowing what to do. Command that they come forward and help you kill
your attackers. And, they will come. 

The airplane itself. Get the hijackers off their feet. Go into an immediate
dive to float them to the ceiling. Then execute a 6G positive maneuver and
hope they hit their head or break their back as they hit the floor, galley
shelf, etc. 

Pull the fire handles, shut the start levers and turn the fuel valves off.
If you lose the battle, at least the airplane won't be used as a guided
missile on a kamikaze mission. With luck, maybe these guys didn't learn how
to do an in-flight restart. Then leave the cockpit - all of you, and kill
your attackers - don't believe it when they surrender - don't be nice to
them - KILL THEM. 

Flare Gun If your airplane has one, the Captain might consider making sure
it's loaded and secured next to his bag. I can think of nothing more
satisfying than watching a ball of burning phosphorous embedded into a
fanatic's gut. 

The crash-axe. I would suggest you have your co-pilot take it from it's
holder and secure it next to him so he has it immediately available. Makes
an excellent skull crusher. 

Your flashlight. The FAA use to require a 2 cell. A 3 cell Mag-Light makes
an excellent weapon. If your maneuvers have the hijackers on the floor
writhing in pain, crush their skulls. 

Your stolen hotel bic pen. Drive it into an attacker's eye, ear, throat, or
into the area just under the jaw bone. That's a particular interesting place
to drive it, because when he opens his mouth to scream, you can read "Hyatt"
sticking there. 

Your hand and fingers Drive your fingers into his eyes and try to feel your
fingernails scrape the back of his eye sockets. Scoop the eyeballs out. It
will confuse the hell out of him when he finds himself looking at his shoes
as they dangle there on the ocular nerves. 

Your teeth. Remember Hannibal Lecter. Eat a nose, a cheek, or a finger. And
keep eating. Attack with all viciousness. A piranha is a small fish, but
it's greatly feared. A hijacker is not expecting you to eat him and it might
make him forget why he got on your airplane to begin with. It will, at
least, impress his buddies. 

Now here's my wish-list of things the FAA could do to help, especially in
this time of war. 

Arm the Captain 
The battle is not going to require any long shots. A small revolver would be
a good choice. It would hold off the attackers long enough for you to
disable your aircraft. 

If the attackers claimed the red package they were holding was a bomb, I'd
shoot out the door glass and hope the door would be ripped out and the
hijacker and his package would be sucked out. And hey, I if I got sucked out
with him, I'd try to fly my body to the hijacker look in his face and laugh
at him all the way to the ground. 

Invite The Police To Man The Jump Seat
Police are always looking for something free. Donut shops use to be a
favorite target for robbers - until they started giving donuts to the
Police. Robbers don't rob donut shops anymore. I would suggest each Police
Department send the FAA a list of the best shots on the department and those
guys and their guns would be welcome on my airplane. 

Fill every vacant seat with armed Police - give them a donut - and tell them
to shoot anyone who gives your Flight Attendant any shit. 

Stop this silly no-knife rule. Make it public. Tell the public they're
welcome to bring their pocket knives onboard. Then everyone will bring them.

So when you make your Intercom call to the passengers for help, you'll have
a dozen or more knife wielding helpers trying to make sure their new Gerber
tastes fanatics blood. There are even a few of them who'd want to keep the
fanatics ears as souvenirs. 

None of us is immune. Take some time and consider your actions if this event
should ever happen to you. My prayer is none of you ever have to face this
kind of decision. 

Best of luck to you, and may God Bless.