Pilots train in Artesia, NM. I trained there as a firearms instructor in 1993 and have been there many times since. The TSA training for armed pilots is more than adequate.

Accidental discharges occur to even the most experienced shooters. Not to ALL shooters, but I say there isn;t a distinguishable limit between training and experience and accidental discharges, other than to say that with more training and experience, there is a lesser chance of an AD.

I think most everyone could imagine a more perfect scenario for defeating a highjacking or a more perfect role for airline pilots, but reality is what it is. Try to remember when flying, the pre-screening process (that pisses off so much of the public, and with good reason) pretty much rules out a firearm going on-board. There are exceptions to every rule, but I'd say it's safe to say, for the purpose of discussion, that the only firearms on-board will be carried legally.

Now, that should change the mindset when thinking about what the pilot's responsibilities are or should be, both fore and aft of the cockpit. Then there's this: if you've flown on an airplane in the last twenty years, and especially in the last ten, then you've flown with armed officers, unbeknownst to you in most cases.

Another thing is the air marshalls. They're aboard almost every flight, and even when they're not, nobody knows it, not even the airline crew until the last minute. Seats are reserved for those guys, which is why you'll see empty seats on a booked flight. And when you don;t see empty seats?...well, you won;t see the air marshalls either, but they're there. Sometimes, they'll cancel flying a flight because at the last minute three armed LEO's booked that flight because they missed theirs, or whatever. They move on to other flights where they're needed. And those empty seats on a booked flight? You might be tempted to think there's nobody armed on that flight. I wouldn't.

Look, the idea here is that anyone who intends to highjack a flight has no idea whether there're armed personnel on the flight or not, and has to correctly guess that there are.

All this and not one mention of everyday people, probably several women included, who (as evidence has shown) will undoubtedly step up to the plate and twist the head off of a troublemaker, let alone a highjacker.

The idea is to let the pilots fly the plane. It's their profession and it's what they do. He who can make it there and breaches the cockpit will die, God willing. Ergo, armed pilots. Ergo, occasional ADs.