More, really.
But if they can't get in the cockpit, they can't control the plane.
But they can still destroy it. And I don't know that they can't control it - particularly with things like the Airbuses flying by wire - I don't know how they've protected it from the possibility of being "taken over".
What about unlocked flight attendants with evil intent? You've still got to secure the flight deck....
If you've got inside people, that doesn't mean the door can't be rigged.
But now you've got the problems of setting up seperate systems in the front, and like I've pointed out, lots of airplanes just aren't viable for that (747 being one). Maybe you could try and make them meet that requirement - but that's one more thing to go wrong. What happens when the door is breached?
Because surely there's still a way to do that... there always is.
It should be relatively easy to retrofit, and relatively inexpensive.
Not really. For it to be heavy enough to be effective, its going to weigh a lot. Plus, figuring where to put it (right now most entrances are right behind the flight deck - that door would bar escapes, after its secured.. And that's still figuring that you handle all the other aspects.
Plus after you do that, you'll have to make sure it doesn't change anything. Remember, airplanes fly by throwing money out the window. :)
I'd say a more minor door, with possibly a/the sky marshal behind it, where you're talking would work better.
But remember, this is a very very rare event. And airplanes are damn fragile anyway - with a knife or a gun, you can take out the whole plane now.
(hydraulic lines, flight control wires are usually accessable by panels in the cabin)
Locking people into their seats isn't a perfect solution, either. But its not a horrible one, either, would be faster, easier, and would also cut down on other accidents. (But raise the deep vein thrombosis)
To put changes into the Flight Data Recorders has taken almost 20 years... as a measure of something "minor" that has to change.
Addison
