Seems like this would require a lot of time, no? Given the money being spent on hunting down terrorists in this country, you'd think they'd want to get on with whatever plans they have, in a timely fashion, so as not to get caught.

I'm not saying that your scenario isn't possible, of course.

I think 9/11 proved that the one thing we should expect from terrorists is that they have a lot of time, money and manpower to burn and they will pop up out of nowhere when it's not expected.

I'm sure the regular updates from Osama are just to keep the authorities running around chasing their own tails and to keep the population paranoid.

Also, I'm sure it wouldn't take more than a few months to become a FA - Maybe a little more to actually be in a position where you get flightdeck access for meals.

Chrisb.

True, but the level of "hunting" that was going on pre-9/11 can't be compared to the level of hunting that is going on now.

That I know nothing about. Do only select FAs get cockpit access?

All you need is one terrorist in a position to control hiring. It could be a small airline, or cargo company, or whatever. But once you control the hiring process, you can admit people who wouldn't normally qualify for aviation jobs. They would only need the absolute minimum qualifications to carry out a job. This is how I picture them getting pilots into the cockpit.

The door isn't meant to be impregnable, however, just more of an impediment than it used to be.

After reading what a fiasco the response was to the 9/11 hijackings (see chapter 1 of the 9/11 report), I don't have much confidence in this option.

Well, doubtful they'd become pilots, as that's a pretty tough job to get for a number of reasons (lots of competition and huge number of prerequisite flight hours, for example). Easier to get a job as a FA, but still plenty of complications along the way.

The FAM or pax could get in to the cockpit if they wanted to.

Not much of a question. There are plenty of possible ways to hijack a plane (or otherwise control with evil intent). The TSA/DHS is not only doing nothing about them, they are actually increasing the possibility by focusing money, resources and attention on non-existent and highly unlikely threats.

Is there an implicit assumption here that only US aircraft and crew are being considered?

I believe so.

Not by me - Some of the largest and most fuel laden aircraft are from International carriers.

Also, some of the staffing and maintenance practices of some airlines leave some rather large questions about other areas of their operations which are deemed less safety critical.

Chrisb.

In so far as this post is concerned, that appears to be the case. In general, I think the US has gone through the most changes post-9/11 to make another, similar terrorist attack more difficult. While a US domestic aircraft is limited in it's range, I think it's a safe assumption that we're still the #1 target for religious extremists. We could debate the reasons, but that's not the point of the thread.

That said, I think it's still very easy to hijack a commercial aircraft.

#4 (per a previous post) doesn't prevent a hijacking. It prevents the plane from doing damage to a pre-determined target only after a hijacking has taken place.

#3 won't do anything against the majority of F being booked by terrorists. Say they purchase 12 F seats on a 757, and get seated toward the front of the cabin. By the time they're up, over the cart, and blocking open the cockpit door when the FO comes out to pee, you're struggling to figure out what the hell just happened and only just starting to make your way up there.

There are enough deadly weapons readily available aboard a commercial aircraft to accomplish the task. Who needs box cutters when you have the fork from your F meal?

And you don't have to be a trained pilot to deliberately crash an already airborne plane. If anything, a dozen terrorists highly trained in hand-to-hand combat with a working understanding of navigation and basic flight dynamics would be far more effective and far less costly.

No. I'm assuming it will be a foreign company.

This is good so long as the door is shut. Also, what holds the door in place? Why yes, it's a wall. @:-)

Oh, and how else could they breach the door?
http://breachingtechnologiesinc.com/video/FIH_jan07.wmv

It's never good strategy to count on your enemy NOT having a weapon.

Or do it before most of the pax have an idea what's happening. Or gain control before the pax can band together and come up with a plan.

Yes we will.

I would argue that it does prevent a hijacking. Because the most difficult part of the terrorist plot is finding the pilots. After you've found the pilots, you will not waste them on a mission where they are likely to get shot down, you would be much smarter to use them on a mission where they can succeed. Therefore, I believe the hijacking scheme is deterred from ever taking place by #4.

^

WILSON!!!

If I was on the team taking over the plane I'd shoot you in the head as soon as you stood up. Or cut your throat.

Hey, don't get me wrong, I'm pulling for you. But it was tried before by the Israeli guy on 9/11. He was killed by having his throat cut by the terrorist waiting for a hero.

If you get up, you better hope a lot of other people get up too, because otherwise your conspicuous, and conspicuous in this kind of thing generally means "target."