[HKFlyer]

FDOS_UK – 11/05/2016 12:31 BST:

I think you hit the nail on its head. Media fear mongering is a huge factor. A lot of this seems to originate from the UK, where security has gone to totally paranoid levels and has been detached from reality.

Just to put this open cockpit door into perspective: During 16 years as an airline pilot (short and medium sectors) I don’t remember a single flight where the door would have staid shut from take off to landing. In fact, I only remember a handful of flights where it was opened only once. The fact of the matter is that the door gets opened several times every single flight for various reasons. And if you are a terrorist whose strategy is based on gaining access to the cockpit, that’s all you need to know to devise a successful plan.

What makes matters worse is that airlines, pushed by authorities who are harassed by the media and in turn pushed by politicians have actually implemented some policies that make it fairly easy to observe patterns in how and when the door is opened. All that puts us in a situation where it makes no difference if the door stays open for 7 minutes or 30 seconds, even 1 second is enough for someone to make a forceful entry.

And then there are the examples of policies that are a pure product of hysteria and should be obvious to any thinking person, one of which has been mentioned in this thread already: liquid restrictions.

But yes, I can understand how an average passenger would react to seeing the door stay open for some time based on what he has been told by the media

Present aviation security is mostly only there for appearances to counteract media hysteria. Hence my original comment hoping that Aegean will handle this sort of passenger complaints in the appropriate context.

[BigDog.]

Now easyJet

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3588624/easyJet-plane-s-cockpit-door-opens-flight.html

…Expert said incident posed no safety risk and a minuscule security threat …

Imo there are far greater security / passenger welfare issues which should be dealt with than an open cockpit door – enough of the faux shock-horror.

edit – BTW I have both “O Level” Calculus and “A Level” further maths” so there 😉

[JohnHarper]

BigDog. – 13/05/2016 13:07 BST

Ahhhh, a further example of Government by Daily Mail – the source of much of the hysteria that rules life in the UK today.

I’m glad I’m no longer much part of it.

[FDOS_UK]

Words fail me …..

[EU_Flyer]

“Terrorists planning a 9/11-style attack are not likely to spend their time travelling on low-cost airlines on the vanishingly small chance that their trip will coincide with one of the rare occasions a flight deck door is not secured” – Dai Whittingham, chief executive of the UK Flight Safety Committee

Nicely said.

[MrMichael]

Yes, nicely said. However it is that sort of complacency that can lead to more cockpit doors being unsecure for longer until eventually the terrorists do not have too many trips to make.

[HKFlyer]

MrMichael – 13/05/2016 17:11 BST

Unfortunately that’s a false sense of security. The present situation does not guarantee the cockpit door to stay secured for the duration of the flight. On the contrary, it’s virtually guaranteed that it will be opened several times during any given flight regardless of the length of the flight.

Therefore it’s also a waste of resources to put massive efforts into preventing these sorts of events mentioned in this thread from happening.

Even the Americans admit that this is the case and that the only ways to actually accomplish what the general public seems to think has already been accomplished requires such massive changes to aircraft cabins that it’s completely cost prohibitive.

[FDOS_UK]

The generals always fight the last war.

Travelling frequently in the Middle East, I am only too aware that some people would do us harm (and I take my personal security seriously, as a result), but they used the hijacking/flying bomb tactic 15 years ago and I doubt it is high on the agenda these days, as it was in the days when it was assumed that the best thing to do was pacify the hijackers, land and negotiate.

Now that crew (and pax) are aware that this is not necessarily the case, the reponse will be different, e.g.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=95735

As HKFlyer writes, without making the flight crew compartments self sufficient, the risk is always there, but IMHO, it is a very small one.

[TominScotland]

What I find bizarre is the DM covering something that happened in 2010, albeit only recently posted to YouTube.

Should I be worried? I am sailing on the QM2 this summer. However, back in 1912, ships ignored radio distress signals from another liner on a similar routing……..

[FDOS_UK]

TominScotland – 14/05/2016 08:05 BST

Re the DM (and indeed other newspapers) I am looking forward to a story headline that says ‘Aircraft flies safely from A-B, no incidents, everyone happy.’ 😉

As we know, bad/scary news sells.

[PdeBarry]

Seriously? Have we truly become so bleeding paranoid? Are you implying that it is a breach in security? But wait, did you or did you not go through security at the airport? Are you saying that the security at the airport is flawed? Should all airline passengers change into a hospital gown before being permitted on board their flight? Should we go through security at all underground stations and be limited to the amount of liquids that we bring on the tube? Where does it end? Should we only be allowed to eat Finger food on all flights? I’m sorry if this stresses anyone out, but then you really should just use other means of travel or live in an area with very few people.

Answer me this: How is possible that I can take a Helicopter from Manhattan to JFK or any other airport without going through security? How is it that I can fly in a private jet without security? Possibly low risk factor…people that can afford this style of travel are wealthy and are therefore not a risk factor. Is that it?

I understand that I’m going to blasted but that’s ok… you know free country and all…. oh wait…. is it?

[FDOS_UK]

“‘m sorry if this stresses anyone out, then you really should just use other means of travel or live in an area with very few people.”

Then you might get eaten by a grizzly 🙂

[philsquares]

After reading all the comments since my last post, I really have to laugh. In my 30+ years of commercial aviation and 10+ years of military aviation, to be honest, the level of security is nothing more than eyewash to the travelling public.

The key to security is good intelligence, nothing more, nothing else. If you really want secure air travel, the only way to ensure that is to place each passenger in a locked compartment, have the cockpit as a separate part of the aircraft structure and you will have no cabin crew, no carry on, all bags to be screened and put on a special freighter. Airfares will increase by 10 fold and we will be secure.

I can tell you since 2001, my job as a captain became one I did not look forward to. The “security” put in place is a joke and continues to be a large farce perpetrated on the public. It has resulted in a bloated bureaucratic industry world wide and it accomplishes very little. The money spent could be better spent on intelligence,, behind the scenes security and other issues to ensure security.

In addition, the media has this fear mongering approach to security which has instilled fear in the majority of the travelling public, such as the recent “security” incident involving a math professor.

I could not wait to retire and get out of the circus called air travel!!! .

[MrMichael]

From my perspective security is never going to be foolproof. The point being that security measures do frustrate those trying to do us harm. It is a matter of making it harder, I accept we will never make it impossible. We also have to take in to account and try to manage the nutcases, whether they be in 8C or on the flight deck.

We also need to get over this politically correct rubbish. Liberals cry foul with any hint of profiling, but at the end of the day it has served El Al well and could serve us well too. Our security services do an excellent job, but they have one hand tied behind their back.

[PdeBarry]

The beauty about profiling is that it just doesn’t work. In the late 1960’s – 1980’s governmental agencies focused on the young people with long hair to stop the drugs from entering their country. However, many of the drug mules were elderly couples who needed the cash.

Profiling just doesn’t work. All that you are doing is intimidating a segment of the population that doesn’t conform. Flying through LHR is such a pleasant experience. After security I was stopped for an extra security check. As I looked down the long row of the privileged individuals I couldn’t help but notice that we all had two things in common…. Long hair and beards. At least it wasn’t age profiling. Ages ranged from late teens to men in their 60’s. When I brought this to the attention of the security personnel, She promptly stated that LHR does not use profiling techniques. One word that came to mind was..bullocks…

I find it rather amusing that we actually pay to be intimidated and in some cases gate-raped.

However, seeing children being legally fondled just because their ticket at check-in was randomly selected is just totally insane.

Like others have said, nothing is ever 100%. The only thing that may work is to place each passenger in their own little bombproof containment unit. Different sizes for long-haul flights for the different classes of travel. However for intra Europe… Business & Economy size will be built for individuals who are 1.70 in height. Economy class will receive bread and water and business will have butter as an extra. Like Ryanair had suggested earlier, to save space these units will be upright only. Ergo standing only. Finally, each passenger will be issued with a plastic chamber pot. Porcelain Chamber pots can be broken and used as a weapon. Just how far do we really need to go down the rabbit hole?

[Author]

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