John Magaw at the FAA says that pilots can't have guns--they have to "focus on flying their airplanes."

This is an ignorant statement.

Airplanes require very little focus--for the most part, they fly themselves. It's not like driving a car. The pilot is only there in case something goes wrong. One of the things that can go wrong is a hijacker attempting to break into a cockpit, and if that's happening, that's where the pilot's focus needs to be (particularly since, HELLO! MAGAW? he has a co-pilot), and he should be given every tool needed to defend that cockpit.

But of course, it's to be expected that Mr. Magaw would be ignorant of this issue--he has no experience whatsoever with aviation. He's apparently never piloted as much as a hang glider, let alone an airliner, yet he presumes to know more about the pilots' job than they do.

But of course, since one of his stints was at BATF, he probable thinks the world would be a better place if people didn't have guns (except for law enforcement types like him).

And here's the stupid statement that Mineta made when he appointed him.

"If I could have designed an individual for this job, it would have been John Magaw."

Gee, Norm, don't you think it might have been useful for him to know a little something about, well, transportation?

Magaw is also assuming that hijackers won't change their behavior once they know that pilots are armed. I would think that an armed pilot would have at least some value as a deterrent.

Mineta was talking about designing a bureaucrat, not someone who knows what he's talking about.

Hello!? Simburg! Where are your 40 + years of law enforcement experience exactly? If the pilot leaves the cockpit, he is gonna be shooting back toward the passengers to begin with, what is the terrorist gonna do when he has access to the cockpit and is behind the controls of that plane? Get a clue my man, or atleast half an educated opinion and don't try to bash a man who deserves more respect than you could ever dream of writing your little articles. Thanks for the entertainment, ahaha.