Allied Pilots Association Calls on Congress to Make Federal Flight Deck Officer Program a Top National Security Priority.Business Editors FORT WORTH, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 5, 2003 'Arming the Cockpit Provides a Critical Last Line of Defense' The Allied Pilots Association (APA (All Points Addressable) Refers to an array (bitmapped screen, matrix, etc.) in which all bits or cells can be individually manipulated. APA - Application Portability Architecture ), which represents the 11,000 pilots who fly for American Airlines American Airlines Major U.S. airline. American was created through a merger of several smaller U.S. airlines and incorporated in 1934. It continued to buy the routes of other airlines, becoming an international carrier in the 1970s; its routes include South America, the (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :AMR (1) (Adaptive Multi-Rate) A variable rate speech codec selected by the 3GPP for the 3G evolution of the GSM cellphone system (WCDMA). Using the Algebraic CELP (ACELP) compression technology, AMR provides toll quality sound at transmission rates from 4.75 to 12. ), issued an appeal to the federal government today to expand the Federal Flight Deck Officer The Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) program is run by the Federal Air Marshal Service with the aim of allowing select pilots of commercial airline flights to carry firearms. External links
"In light of the recent news reports that terrorists are plotting new attacks against commercial aviation, it is imperative that we accelerate the number of trained Federal Flight Deck Officers in the cockpits of our nation's airliners," said Captain John Darrah, APA President. "Arming the cockpit provides a meaningful deterrent and critical last line of defense against a terrorist attack." In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, APA was in the forefront of lobbying efforts to secure the right for commercial pilots to carry firearms in the cockpit. Currently, the Federal Flight Deck Officer program is operating at a reduced capacity as a consequence of the Transportation Security Administration's decision to discontinue training at the federal law enforcement training center Noun 1. Federal Law Enforcement Training Center - a center in the Department of that trains law enforcement professionals for more than seventy federal agencies FLETC in Glynco, Ga. after Labor Day and shift all training to a site in Artesia, N.M. Each weekly training class is limited to 48 pilots. Another potential impediment is the location of the Artesia facility itself, which is 269 miles from the closest major airport in Albuquerque, N.M. The training program is voluntary and pilots must pay all of their travel expenses, lodging and daily expenses. Some members of Congress have proposed contracting out the training to private companies at multiple locations. "With the renewed threat of terrorism against commercial aviation and the cutbacks in the number of Federal Air Marshals aboard flights, APA is more convinced than ever that arming the cockpit could well be the key in preventing another successful attack against our industry," said Darrah. "The Federal Flight Deck Officer program must be expanded and recognized as a top national security priority. We cannot afford to be complacent or permit bureaucracy to stand in the way of this critical program." Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas, 18th-largest city in the United States[1], and voted one of "America’s Most Livable Communities. , APA was founded in 1963. |
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