It is a beautiful day in New York City. Autumn is setting in as golden leaves are blown to the ground by a gentle breeze. The warmth of the summer sun is desperately fighting bursts of cold in the air. However, this seemingly perfect day is ruled by mournful reflection. The one year anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in America's history is just days away. One of the several memorial services for September 11, 2001, is being held just a block away from Ground Zero. For the service, the names of all the World Trade Center victims are being read aloud. The process will take two and a half hours as the speaker calls out 2,801 names. These are just the names of the World Trade Center victims. There are over 1,000 more victims in Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania. In addition, there are approximately 1,000 more bodies that will never be identified. What if these deaths could have been prevented? What if terrorists had not succeeded in hijacking these three planes? It is these questions that make me believe that airline pilots should carry guns.
On September 11, 2001, terrorists successfully hijacked three commercial airplanes. These hijackings were several years in the making. The terrorists had carefully designed their plan down to the very minute. They had an endless supply of money to fund the preparation and execution of the attack. The terrorists themselves were not afraid of death and actually felt like heroes as they gave their own lives for their beliefs. They had nothing to lose and nothing could stop them. Many people blame the lack of security but fail to realize that security did their job; the terrorists weren't breaking any rules as they passed through various security checkpoints. The terrorists weren't carrying any type of explosive or gun. What did the terrorists use to hijack the planes during the final and most critical part of their mastermind plan? Plastic knives.