Originally Posted by
Firebug4
I don't know that I would go that far. The Sept. 11 hijackings were done with box cutters. Yes, the doors are re-enforced now I understand that but how about the individual pilots psychological resolve? How are the pilots going to react if the bad guys start killing the flight attendants one by one then move on to the passengers if they don't open the door?
Knives were a secondary factor in 9/11, maybe even a tertiary factor. The real (genious) terrorism behind 9/11 was exploiting airline policy of unconditional cooperation with hijackers. Knives made it easy for them to quickly get compliance from crews and passengers, but they could have achieved the same effect with broken glass, strangling people with shoelaces or neckties, or just claiming to have a bomb.
I'm willing to accept a ban on boxcutters as long as we recognize it is a feel good measure in reaction to 9/11 and has no real security benefit. And large knives (say, blade of 4" or greater) have no more business on an aircraft than swords, guns, explosives, or incendiaries. But banning little 1.5" pen knives is silly, particularly since they easily make it through the metal detector without alarm.