[cardguy]

In the aftermath of 9/11 - all pilot doors on airplanes have been locked making access to them nearly impossible for other people on the plane.

But in light of the recent missing airplane - I wonder if such a feature may have contributed in some way to what happened on the plane?

Back in 2006 - The Guardian ran an interesting article on the dangers of having the pilots sealed off from the rest of the plane.

Below is the key quote from the article:

Quote:

As late as January 2001, British Airways was adamant that locked doors were too dangerous to adopt.

Following an incident in which a mentally ill passenger attacked the pilots of a jumbo jet, BA chief executive Rod Eddington said: "We will not be locking the door because it does not make sense ... Locking the door would cause more safety problems than it would solve."

But September 11 caused a panic reaction. Locked doors were hastily installed on planes all over the world despite a warning from the then US national transportation safety board vice-chairwoman, Carol Carmody.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2006...try.travel

And as for the current Malaysian plane which is missing. Here is Toby Young - a UK journalist - speculating on how locked pilot doors could have contributed to the events on board.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tobyyo...light-370/

Quote:

As the story of MH370 unfolds, becoming more mysterious by the day, I keep being reminded of a thriller I read four years ago. Bolt Action, a novel by Charlie Charters, is set on board exactly the same plane – not just a Boeing 777, but a 777-200ER. In addition, the plane belongs to the national carrier of a Muslim state, though in Bolt Action's case it's Pakistan not Malaysia.

The thriller poses the question: What if a plane is hijacked but no one can regain control because the cockpit door is locked? Since 9/11 all passenger jets have bolt armatures fitted to the cockpit door (the Bolt Action reference in the title).

The door remains locked during flight and it's virtually impossible for anyone to get into the cockpit unless the pilot or co-pilot chooses to open it. The locked door is designed to withstand a hand grenade being detonated right outside, a 9mm clip being fired into it at point blank range – even an axe attack.

In Bolt Action, the terrorist is a member of the cabin crew, which allows him to access the cockpit where he poisons the pilot and co-pilot, and then bolts the door.