4 ms·

A team of hijackers could almost certain break the cockpit door given sufficient time (maybe hours) of unfettered access to do so.

mrguyorama 4y ago
They would require a lot of tools that would be difficult (not impossible, TSA is garbage) to smuggle onto the plane.
- staunch 4y ago
  Smuggled tools, some kind of creative solution using onboard materials, a weakness they've discovered, etc. In order words, its not safe to assume a team of intelligent and motivated hijackers couldn't break into a cockpit given sufficient time. But it is safe to assume that the reinforced cockpit door will slow hijackers enough that passengers have time to stop them.
  - SoftTalker 4y ago
    Unless over the middle of the ocean, most flights are probably close enough to an emergency diversion landing that "sufficient time" would be unlikely.
    - staunch 4y ago
      Hopefully, yes, but we can't just ignore the tens of thousands of flights flying 2-3-4 hours from the nearest airport every year. Particularly because these are the biggest airplanes with the most passengers.
kelnos 4y ago
Unless they were somehow able to keep the pilots completely unaware of what's going on, that wouldn't work. It's a pretty extreme response, and would risk passengers (assuming they're still alive), but depressurizing the cabin would pretty quickly stop any attempts to break into the cockpit. Even if attackers could get to supplemental oxygen in time, those little bottles don't last forever, and there'd be an opportunity for crew and passengers to regain control. I think there are other last-resort actions pilots could take to thwart a takeover, like engaging in extreme attitude/altitude changes in order to knock out the attackers. Remember, we're operating under the assumption that if the hijackers win, everyone on the plane is likely dead anyway, so putting passengers at risk to stop them should be considered acceptable. The only way attackers can realistically win is if a pilot is duped into letting them into the cockpit. Not impossible, but that reduces the possibilities quite a lot.

mrguyorama 4y ago

They would require a lot of tools that would be difficult (not impossible, TSA is garbage) to smuggle onto the plane.

staunch 4y ago
Smuggled tools, some kind of creative solution using onboard materials, a weakness they've discovered, etc. In order words, its not safe to assume a team of intelligent and motivated hijackers couldn't break into a cockpit given sufficient time. But it is safe to assume that the reinforced cockpit door will slow hijackers enough that passengers have time to stop them.
- SoftTalker 4y ago
  Unless over the middle of the ocean, most flights are probably close enough to an emergency diversion landing that "sufficient time" would be unlikely.
  - staunch 4y ago
    Hopefully, yes, but we can't just ignore the tens of thousands of flights flying 2-3-4 hours from the nearest airport every year. Particularly because these are the biggest airplanes with the most passengers.

kelnos 4y ago

Unless they were somehow able to keep the pilots completely unaware of what's going on, that wouldn't work. It's a pretty extreme response, and would risk passengers (assuming they're still alive), but depressurizing the cabin would pretty quickly stop any attempts to break into the cockpit. Even if attackers could get to supplemental oxygen in time, those little bottles don't last forever, and there'd be an opportunity for crew and passengers to regain control. I think there are other last-resort actions pilots could take to thwart a takeover, like engaging in extreme attitude/altitude changes in order to knock out the attackers. Remember, we're operating under the assumption that if the hijackers win, everyone on the plane is likely dead anyway, so putting passengers at risk to stop them should be considered acceptable. The only way attackers can realistically win is if a pilot is duped into letting them into the cockpit. Not impossible, but that reduces the possibilities quite a lot.