What Would You Do If Your Flight Was Hijacked?

Originally posted by LL1
Besides all 4 heading to CA, 3 to LA, the fourth to San Francisco.
The two flights from Boston, the hijackers more than likely figured there would be less of a fight.
Why? geographically people tend to differ, Boston residents would be different.
The Dulles flight 77 the hijackers probably figured easy, the time of day early morning, business passengers.

As for flight 93, from the tri-state NY/CJ/CT area=FIGHT!!!!

This forms a very interesting and an oddly plausible theory.

[edit on 04/9/6 by GradyPhilpott]

I can't imagine people not putting up a fight these days. What's there to lose? I think terrorist organizations know this too. It's notable that there have been no hijacks of western aircraft since 9/11.

well wherever i go i take my ps2 so id probably bash them in the head repeatedly until they droped their gun and smoke 'em. no terrorist ( insert really foul language here) is better than me in anyway.

p.s. when i "smoke 'em" ill be yelling in their face," how do ya like me now boy!? im from da streets!!!"

Originally posted by Jazzerman
Oh my God Grady...are we actually agreeing about something here

There's always common ground, Jazzerman. Sometimes it just takes some time to find it. I used to work cases with mulitple attorneys who were accustomed to Social Workers who would roll over on every demand until I came along and actually stood up to them in court and won, in many situations. When we would find points of agreement, their response would be exactly like yours. I've seen a couple come close to fainting. Pretty funny, really.

The only problem that I see would be that people would target "people who look suspicious" who may not be a threat at all, and then we get into a whole other topic about profiling, etc.

This is always the fear when we talk about empowering the public, but I think this is less of a concern than many think. We Americans have really come a long way in our acceptance of the merely different. We fly now with all kinds and I don't think it behooves anyone to create a melee on an aircraft for no good reason. Collectively, our goal should be unity, not uniformity.

[edit on 04/9/6 by GradyPhilpott]

Originally posted by GradyPhilpott

Originally posted by LL1
Besides all 4 heading to CA, 3 to LA, the fourth to San Francisco.
The two flights from Boston, the hijackers more than likely figured there would be less of a fight.
Why? geographically people tend to differ, Boston residents would be different.
The Dulles flight 77 the hijackers probably figured easy, the time of day early morning, business passengers.

As for flight 93, from the tri-state NY/CJ/CT area=FIGHT!!!!

This forms a very interesting and oddly, a plausible theory.

That CJ should have been NJ New Jersey
CT (Connecticut)
NY (New York)

I didn't want to offend anyone, by different I gather u knw what I meant?
I did mean the mentality (2 BOS/WASH flights) was of very obedient.
Remember the terrorist stated "they study us and observe us"?
They knw exactly which flights would be easy...
Boy! Did they make a BIG mistake with the EWR(Newark) flight!
Guess they never saw "NJ Drive"...

Originally posted by LL1
I didn't want to offend anyone, by different I gather u knw what I meant?

Not to worry. I got it, even the CJ part--my extraordinary powers of logical deduction.

In studying sociology I learned that we all act differently in a crowd, think about it, if you hear someone scream and you are by yourself you are far more likely to investigate and try to help as opposed to being with a crowd. In a crowd we all look to see who is going to move first, we all look for someone more in charge, more capable. We all act differently in a crowd, no one wants to make a fool of themselves or take the blame if something goes even more wrong. In a hi-jacking where we are all unsure what to do, their possibly killing anyone who makes a move, it's very hard to know what we would do. Most of us would only make a move when we know we have nothing left to lose by doing so. The people on those hi-jacked planes were frightened and unsure what to do just like all of us would have been.

Originally posted by goose
In studying sociology I learned that we all act differently in a crowd

You are discussing mob psychology or mentality. I am speaking of an ordered and hasitily organized response to crisis by individuals who have similar training and a willingness to act in concert. Think of driving. Have you ever been to Puerto Rico or some place like Italy where the streets are utter chaos.

I don't know how we Americans do it, but as crazy as our streets are sometimes, it is poetry in motion compared to some places. It happens, in part, because we all share some basic knowledge and rules of the road and somehow it mostly goes well. When you think of how much power is weilded by a single motorist, a firearm seems tame, by comparison.

This same kind of collective cooperation could be generalized to many other forms of social circumstances, as well. In sociology, we call call these types of rules, norms--socially accepted expectations for behavior. Anomie is a state of normlessness--something we are inching toward everyday.


[edit on 04/9/6 by GradyPhilpott]

I will grab a baseball bat

I don't carry one in my carry-on for nothing.

Grady, that was the funniest link so far keep�em coming.

As for what I would do�.currently when I fly about the only thing keeping me from jumping up and sternly lecturing those dolts that just get up to imbalance the plane, is the floatation device wedged in my sphincter. Ever tried to walk with one of those�. it makes jumping anywhere pretty painful.

Well, i have dissarmed a guy with a fairly large knife before, so this 6' 200 lbs of pure muscle guy would have no problem with some box cutters.

I just feel bad for the eyes of the terrorists, because they wouldn't have any after I got done with them.

Edit: BTW, that song is great, especially with old blue eyes

[edit on 6-9-2004 by American Mad Man]

Praying comes to mind, for I have no doubt that the plane would be shot down, just as Flight 93.

LetsRoll911.org has discovered that Fight 93 was definitely shot down.

LetsRoll has discovered the name of the pilot as well as all other pertinent information regarding this incident;

"At precisely 0938 hours, an alarm was sounded at Langely Air Force Base, and those whom were on call, drinking coffee, were scrambled. Thus the 119th Fighter Wing was off for an intercept.

They, the Happy Hooligans, a unit of 3 F-16 aircraft, were ordered to head toward Pennsylvania. At 0957 they spotted their target; After confirmation orders were received, A one Major Rick Gibney fired two sidewinder missiles at the aircraft and destroyed it in mid flight at precisely 0958;

He was awarded a medal from the Governor one year later for his heroic actions. As well as Decorated by Congress on 9/13/2001. The Happy Hooligans were previously stationed in North Dakota, and moved to Langley Air Force base some months before 911 occured on a "Temporary assignment."

www.letsroll911.org...

Respects,

Originally posted by GradyPhilpott

Originally posted by goose
In studying sociology I learned that we all act differently in a crowd

You are discussing mob psychology or mentality. I am speaking of an ordered and hasitily organized response to crisis by individuals who have similar training and a willingness to act in concert. Think of driving. Have you ever been to Puerto Rico or some place like Italy where the streets are utter chaos.

I don't know how we Americans do it, but as crazy as our streets are sometimes, it is poetry in motion compared to some places. It happens, in part, because we all share some basic knowledge and rules of the road and somehow it mostly goes well. When you think of how much power is weilded by a single motorist, a firearm seems tame, by comparison.

This same kind of collective cooperation could be generalized to many other forms of social circumstances, as well. In sociology, we call call these types of rules, norms--socially accepted expectations for behavior. Anomie is a state of normlessness--something we are inching toward everyday.


[edit on 04/9/6 by GradyPhilpott]

No I'm speaking of a group of quiet normal people taking a flight somewhere seated in groups of two and threes with seats that have high backs so that you can't talk to the people behind you, my point is in a hi-jacking situation I doubt the hi-jackers are going to allow much talking or much group gathering to put together a plan of defense against them.

Originally posted by goose

Originally posted by GradyPhilpott
No I'm speaking of a group of quiet normal people taking a flight somewhere seated in groups of two and threes with seats that have high backs so that you can't talk to the people behind you, my point is in a hi-jacking situation I doubt the hi-jackers are going to allow much talking or much group gathering to put together a plan of defense against them.

I am speaking of an ordered and hasitily organized response to crisis by individuals who have similar training and a willingness to act in concert.

I see what you are saying, but what I described is actually what happened on Flight 93. The people in the back of the plane set up a plan once they knew what was happening and they tried to take back control of the plane. The audio tape of the pilot and another hijacker deciding to put the plane down after the revolt has been released, for those who suggest that the plane was shot down.

If people went to crisis management courses the way that most of us go to drivers training, then we would all know what to expect from one another, just like when we drive our cars.

This is the same conclussion that the passengers of Flight 77 came to on that fateful morning of 9/11.

What would I do? Well, like it has already been mentioned, rules have definitely changed since 9/11 concerning hijackings and it wouldn't be sitting there doing nothing.

Pilots now have the option to carry a sidearm if they wish and armed flight marshalls are on random flights, first of all.

As to the common public, every one should be aware of any suspicious acting people. Looks, don't count. These terrorists are going try to blend in as much as possible to avoid detection.

I am suspicious of everyone (not paranoid, just don't trust anyone I don't know), so I would be checking out everyone that may seem "out of place" so to say. Never had initial trust of anyone,even before 9/11.

So here is my list of things I would do:

1) First of all, remain calm.

2) Avoid any eye contact with hijackers, if possible.

3) If permitted, try to calm other passengers that is near you if they are starting to panic (assure them that getting panicky is not going to help the situation).

4) Assess the immediate situation. e.g.: How many bad guys are there and what types of weapons do they possess?

5) Try to determine who may be the flight marshall and determine who may or may not be willing to fight? This one is a tough one, because looks can be deceiving.

6) Usually, hijackers will not let passengers look around, and may order passengers to put their heads in their laps, upon taking over the aircraft, so try to scope everyone out when you're boarding and getting to your seats. (This is just habit for me.)

7) If the above should happen (head in laps), listen carefully at the situation around you.

8) Try to communicate with other passengers if possible.

9) Upon determining all of the above factors, try to distract the hijackers by "fainting, getting ill, acting delirious etc...", this is to get them within hands reach.

10) More than likely, there will be other passengers onboard thinking the same things, so someone is going to have to make the initial move and that may have to be you. Others should follow suit and vice versa.

11) The likelihood of finding anything on the aircraft to use as a weapon will be very slim, so you are going to have to rely on your trusty hands (and other parts of your body if possible e.g. feet, knees, elbows, head).

12) Avoid being intoxicated (any level),before the flight and during the flight. Reaction time and reflexes is going to be an extreme determining factor between life and death.

The above is what I would do if situation permits.

If you should assess that situation may be an imminent threat, then yell Geronimo and have a free-for-all and pray that other passengers fall in behind you.

You must not fear these bastards, that is what they feed on and thrive for.

God Bless America and all of her red-blooded citizens, both NORTH and SOUTH, should anything as such should happen.

By the way, damned great link Grady love the lyrics.

[edit on 6/9/04 by Intelearthling]

If Norad uses the remote contol overide capacity to reroute the plane you would probably be SOL.

If,on the other hand, some actual human tries to take of the plane, I agree with others, I would be nervous and scared, but after 911, I would assume i was toast if i did nothing anyway, so the only logical conclusion is to attempt to foil a hijacker.

You notice the subsequent reports since 911, when ever anyone is acting way out of the norm, the passengers themselves take action.
.

I dunno how the terrorists got to the damn cockpit, personally.

"We have box cutters! Take a step closer, and we'll slice you! And then pour salt in the wound and it will REALLY hurt!"

Not to make light of the situation, but really, I was really pissed at the Terrorists for doing what they did, but I was more angry at the American's that didn't take action.

Even if the situation was being hostages, I'd rather die for honour and country than be barganing chips which would like, free up terrorists we have in custody for my safe return.

Originally posted by Intelearthling
12) Avoid being intoxicated (any level),before the flight and during the flight. Reaction time and reflexes is going to be an extreme determining factor between life and death.

I think your response is very well thought out and pretty much on target. I think your item #12 is the most important thing. In any emergency, an intoxicated individual is a liability, not only to himself, but to all others. This is true of any emergency and I personally believe that alcoholic beverages should not be available in airports or on airplanes and intoxicated persons should not be allowed to board aircraft. If an aircraft loses pressure, I have been informed that the effect of alcohol is doubled. In the world we live in intoxication, is a luxury no one can afford.

Originally posted by Gehirne
Not to make light of the situation, but really, I was really pissed at the Terrorists for doing what they did, but I was more angry at the American's that didn't take action.

In the past, the public has been instructed and conditioned to not resist violent offenders. The first three planes had no idea what was going on and thus could not react. Flight 93 got word from loved ones via phone and decided that they were going to die anyway, so they might as well call the shots. That was a very courageous decision.

My first instinct would be to look for something i could hit them over the head with, either killing them or rendering them unconscious (preferably killing). Then I would probably been shot by the other hijacker, but hey, at least i would have killed one of the sonsab!tches...