Front Sight Aims To Arm Our Pilots
Front Sight Firearms Training Institute has for years been the advocate of responsible gun training for all Americans, especially those in the realm of protection or responsibility, such as commercial pilots – men and women who we put our trust in every day. Featured in the Fort Worth Star Telegram, an American Airline pilot, Keith Shankland, has had an idea which has been being espoused by Front Sight for some time: give the pilots guns.
"I am firmly convinced that if at least one of the crew members on each of those airlines [on September 11th] had been armed, we would not have four crashes, thousands of people dead and the economy taking a dive," Shankland said. A veteran pilot and a Southlake councilman, Shankland grew angry after last week's terrorist attacks when he learned that he would no longer be permitted to carry a pocketknife or a razor in his shaving kit.
Shankland went on to say that the cockpit is the last line of defense. "I'm not the threat," he said. "I've had background checks performed. Numerous background checks. I've been fingerprinted. I've had psychological evaluations. Whatever we can do to enhance the safety of the people on that airplane, we should do."
Front Sight backs Mr. Shankland's opinion. Front Sight and its founder and director, Dr. Ignatius Piazza, have long believed that firearms training makes for not only understanding of firearms, but also their safe use. A pilot who has received firearms training would be absolutely no threat to the people on the plane, but would be able to deter and stop any terrorist attempt on the plane. What terrorist could overpower a fully trained, armed pilot with a box opener? All these reasons and more add up to why Dr. Piazza and Front Sight have decided to offer free firearms training to any commercial, licensed pilot who wishes to attend Front Sight in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Back to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram article on Ignatius Piazza