Manual Provides Self-Defense Advice For Frequent Flyers
A cup of coffee. A magazine. A
necktie. A can of soda.
These are all run-of-the-mill items in the cabin of any
commercial passenger flight. But in this new age of threat and
counter threat, they are also weapons that could foil an attempt to
hijack the plane you're on.
So says a trio of authors who've written "Never Again," a how-to
book aimed at ensuring no aircraft is turned into a guided weapon
of mass destruction ever again.
"This isn't a whack-em-up, bang-em-up book," said American
Airlines Capt. Mark Bogosian, one of the authors. He was quoted by
the Dallas Morning News. "We're giving you the tools necessary to
analyze a situation, then take an appropriate action."
In terms that most of us can understand, the book, which was
published in March, outlines ways to recognize threats and respond
appropriately. Bogosian's co-writers are veteran law enforcement
trainer Michael Regan and Tommy Hamilton, the DFW SWAT team
commander and a government trainer specializing in in-flight
self-defense.
The book recognizes aircraft security in the new age. Pilots may
be armed. Sky marshals could be sitting next to you incognito. And
while the authors don't by any means advocate trying to overrule
one of these people, even the air marshal service is
appreciative.
"If [an air marshal] requests assistance from passengers, it
would be nice to know that possibly some of these passengers might
have self-defense training," said federal air marshal spokesman
Dave Adams.
Fighting back is what made heroes out of the passengers aboard
UAL Flight 93, which crashed in a southern Pennsylvania field.
Cockpit tapes and phone calls from those on board indicated the
passengers fought back against the hijackers of that flight on
9/11, perhaps saving countless other lives in the nation's
capitol.
The book does have its critics. Among them, according to the
Morning News, former NWA security director Douglas Laird. "I think
the way they overcame the people [on Flight 93] was sheer force of
number, not because they read a book in how to do a judo move," he
told the paper. "You need hundreds of hours of training, not three
or four hours, and you have to practice regularly."
The book does talk about ways to disarm a hijacker. It also
offers ways for those not initiated in self-defense tactics to
fight back.
Wing a soda can. Roll up a magazine and turn it into a baton.
Use the drink cart as a battering ram. These are just a few of the
tactics "Never Again" advocates.
The authors do make a point with their book. Just ask Regan. "I
can tell you what would happen if passengers don't get involved.
You have the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. When passengers
get involved, you have a flight that crashes in Pennsylvania,
instead of the Capitol Building or the White House."
So far, about 1,800 copies of "Never Again" have been sold
worldwide.