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Air passengers taught self-defense
Responding to the air-travel anxieties since 9-11, an airline pilot and two aviation security experts have compiled a book to help passengers and crew defend themselves in the case of a terrorist attack. "Never Again" is a "self-defense guide for the flying public'' with some 200 illustrations of hand-to-hand combat situations that could unfold in an airline cabin. "Unless law enforcement is aboard, passengers and flight attendants are the first line of defense," co-author Mark Bogosian told WorldNetDaily. An American Airlines captain, Bogosian notes that prior to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, flight crews were trained to cooperate with hijackers, but the suicide operation that turned airliners into missiles changed everything. "That scenario was never imagined or talked about in our training," he said. Bogosian's co-authors are security experts Michael Regan and Tommy Hamilton, a SWAT team commander for the police force at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. The authors emphasize that if air marshals are on board, passengers must cooperate and do exactly as they are told. But Bogosian knows from experience that not all flights are staffed with law enforcement. If he had his way, the book, which originally was developed for airline crews, would be in the seat-pocket of every airliner. "The information in this book is just too valuable to not be made available to the public," he said. Along with disarming tips â in case a terrorist was able to get a gun on board â it provides numerous self-defense moves, ways to take away a knife or box cutter and information about dozens of ordinary items in aircraft cabins that can be used to thrwart an attack. Bogosian emphasizes, however, this is not a "whack 'em up" book, but a carefully measured approach to an attack that begins with analyzing the situation and using the standard levels of the "force continuum" employed by law enforcement. "It starts with a professional presence," said Bogosian. "Sometimes all it takes is a crew member with passengers at his side to quell an attack." Posted by: Steve 2004-07-07 |
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