American Airlines 232 attacked everyone, and they could have been evacuated in flight with parachutes.
Alaska Air flight 261 attacked everyone, and they could have save at least some people by jumping out with parachutes.
Bunch of eastern airliners crashing in IMC that could have just had their passengers jump to safety.
UPS Airline Flight 6 attacked all on board, bet they wish they had some parachutes.
Excusing the utterly ridiculousness of all this, how do you propose anyone would have exited the aircraft, let alone deployed a canopy? What's the fastest you've ever exited an aircraft in flight? What provision exists for jump doors? Not realistic.
Putting two rounds center mass and one in the head, very realistic. No aircraft modifications needed.
Fund the handguns.
But hey, at lease with parachutes they could open the doors and jump to safety regardless of what the airplane does, right?
No, which is why it's a ridiculous concept. It's not that hard to put a bullet where one intends, if one does one's part. That much is possible, and reason enough to arm a pilot.
If you're fantasy and imagination are such that you think the attackers are going to be like neo from the matrix, no amount of FFDO training is going to be enough.
It doesn't take Neo to be effective, just someone with a little training and a lot of determination.
Everyone laughed about boxcutters years ago. I was ridiculed for saying that a 3" blade is more than enough...the 09/11 attackers found that it was more than adequate.
Even the most determined attacker passing through a cockpit door isn't going far with two rounds in the chest and one in the head. Neither is the one behind him. The 09/11 attackers didn't have to face an armed cockpit crew.
I'd rather have 20 people tackle some guy that was trying to detonate a bomb or pull a gun rather than hope a one-on-one showdown with a pilot trying to wrench himself out of a seat and in the opposite direction through a tiny door.
No worries. 20 people can still take their best shot outside the cockpit.
Nobody is shooting through the cockpit door, but when it's breached, a crew member with a firearm is most definitely in order.
An eighty million dollar airplane, one hundred twenty five lives in the balance, a crew that's paid chickenfeed, national security at stake, but you don't want anyone to foot the bill for arming the crew? Why not take away the autopilot and eliminate alternate gear extension procedures? Why not take away all the backups and redundancy, and if the crew wants it, make them pay?
Stupid idea. Fund the handguns.