I mean? Gas station attendants have Bulletproof glass to protect them?
WHYTF dont the pilots have their own entrance and exits to isolate them from the passengers sections? instead of a flimsy door?
At least Terrorist's wouldn't be able to get access to the cockpit

I asked the same thing in an earlier post, but received no response. Just having a cockpit door with a lock or a combination lock wouldn't do - the hijackers would just kill passengers and crew until the cockpit crew relented and let them in.

I'm certain that there must be sound reasons for not having the cockpit inaccessible during flights, I just can't think of any.

Eric The(Wondering)Hun[>]:)]

There are a couple of reasons. The aircraft has to be pressurized. It is somewhat difficult to make a barrier strong enough to withstand depressurization. They actually design the doors to have kick-panels that blow out if the plan depressurizes. The FAA doesn't require it. The airlines don't want to add several hundred pounds to a plane that would decrease it's capacity/effeciency.
I guess you could say that it could be done, but there wasn't a need to do so.

until now

Also in a crash it would be nice if rescue workers could get into the cockpit area to assist the injured crew.

I suggest oxygen masks and a sleepy gas switch to put the entire plane asslep except for crew.

I'm not an expert on aviation by any means but I think that they are fairly secure. Reports on the news are that the terrorists may have tricked the pilots to come out by attacking the stewardesses. There have been so many cases of air rage lately - with pilots coming out and assisting, asking passengers for help in restraining the unruly passengers, etc - that this seems like a reasonable explanation.

This is a good idea. Give the flight crew a chance to put everyone down!

A better question is, why didn't the flight crew have guns to protect the lives of thousands of people who are now dead?

Locks and doors, even vaults don't stop motivated killers - but a bullet to the head stops them pretty convincingly.  A puny revolver or two on each plane and this might have turned out a lot differently.

Structurally, cockpits were never designed to deny access to all humans once the door is locked. Not military or civilian. Neither is your house...I don't think. Rescue is factored into the design. The cockpit is a locked office with restricted access. Not any different from the Oval Office door. Except for the armed response!

No doubt, if an intruder were to gain entry by force into your house, you are justified in the use of deadly force. This is an option that we as pilots do not have...yet!

I propose that we return to the golden age of air travel...when people dressed up to fly, and the flight crew could carry a concealed weapon. It is probable that today's news would have been different if the pilots had a chance to end the situation early.

Ironically, the day prior I flew our B-737 into New York (La Guardia) Airport. A low cloud layer obscured all of Manhattan except for the upper 30 floors of the WTC. We both commented on how majestic the towers looked as they poked above the clouds(and how fortunate those people are to have an office with a view above the clouds). [b]Godspeed to those people.[/b]

Robert
US Airways B-737 Pilot

Another reason... the pilots have to get back to the passenger compartment to pee.

The cockpit doors can not be built into a fortress wall because it will prohbit the emergency evac of the plane for the pilots.  If the door is shut because it is lock or stuck, they have to break it down fast to get out of the plane.  The best solution would be armed the flight crew.

It's all about money, pure and simple. With today's composities and alloys, a secure door to the cockpit could be easily designed and implemented. The decompression vents could be incorporated into the bulkhead in an location not accessible to people. The reasons this is not done are

A) It would cost something to develop and incorporate

B) Airplanes have definite weight capacities and airlines would rather have a 200 pound paying passenger than a secure cockpit door.

That's all, folks.

Just put an exit/entrance door and a toilet in the cockpit, and seal it off from the rest of the plane.

That would be both extremely more expensive and heavier than simply fortifying the existing door to the passenger cabin.

The training has always been to comply and negotiate.  Those days are over.  The training will now be to disarm and kill, AT ANY COST.

The pilots let them in after they threatened (and on 2 planes slit the throats of stewardesses) the passengers and staff.

Secure doors are needed and will no doubt be installed.  Pilots and the public will have to have a "no survivors" mentality from now on.

I was thinking about this earlier. Previously, the military tought it's troops that the first objective during a hijacking or terrorist inncodent is to survive. I have a feeling that will all change.

In even of another inncodent like this, these people have to be eliminated AS QUICKLY as possible. When one passenger attacks, the others better be right on the first person's ass without a second thought!