Since the events of September 11, 2001 the FAA and Transport Canada have mandated the installation of secure cockpit doors with internal locking devices on commercial aircraft. Many people, however, are now starting to realize that these doors alone will not solve the problem. No matter how well constructed the door is, the cockpit is vulnerable each time the door is opened, an average of about eight times per flight.

The CRUPAX Flight Deck Security System was designed by an international consortium with input from law enforcement, security, pilots, flight attendants, aerospace engineers, airlines and the flying public. This system leaves nothing to chance, but is extremely user friendly. It is a modern, improved, light-weight version of the Israeli system employed for many years by El Al Airlines, who have never had an aircraft hijacked. It is non-lethal and unobtrusive, designed to tactfully keep all unauthorized persons away from the cockpit door when it is unlocked.

Examine the anatomy of a terrorist hijacking. If I am a trained terrorist, I am not concerned about any weapon (including an air marshal’s) being used against me, for the chances of that happening are slim indeed. When I board the aircraft I do not need to carry anything on my person or in my luggage that airport security might detect, and I have no known criminal record that would identify me, so picking me out of the crowd is an impossible task.

The new fortified cockpit doors will prevent low-grade hijackers and air rage cases from invading the cockpit by breaking through the door, but they do nothing to deter the well- trained, determined terrorist. If I am that person, I know that I do not have to break through the cockpit door. Leave that for the amateurs. All I have to do is occupy a first class seat in the front row and rush the cockpit door when it is open. It is a virtual certainty that at some point a flight attendant will knock on the door and it will be opened, and that is when I make my move. I hit the flight attendant in the back with a solid body check and send her flying into the cockpit, probably knocking over the pilot who unlocked the door in the process. Before anyone can even think of reacting, I am in the cockpit and my martial arts training enables me to incapacitate or kill the other pilot in short order.

Even if there is an air marshal on board who is awake, alert and not in the bathroom, he has little or no opportunity to stop me. I have moved so quickly that I am inside the cockpit before he can draw his firearm, and by the time he reacts I have locked the bulletproof door behind me and he has no way of reaching me.

Situation Assessment: I have reached this point without the help of accomplices, without a weapon, and with little or no resistance, because I have planned this very carefully and know there is no way to defend against me. I have moved much too quickly and forcefully for anyone to even contemplate resisting, and am now in complete control. I will throw the flight attendant and pilots out of the cockpit and lock the secure door behind them: now I have a perfect fortress all to myself so I can do as I please and take as long as I wish. I am using the system against itself, and it works for me much better than it worked for the pilots. The system did not protect them, but it now protects me. Did the presence of a well-trained, armed air marshal make any difference at all, except to make everyone more complacent? Now, unlike the pilots, I will not make the mistake of opening the cockpit door for anyone who knocks.

If I am a hijacker, I will not fly on any aircraft that has a CRUPAX System preventing me from rushing the cockpit door when it is open. Let’s face it, that is the only time I am interested in that door, when some unsuspecting person opens it for me. I don’t even have to open it for myself. Funny how almost everything is done for me. All I have to do is get the timing right, and the rest is easy.

The foregoing is the current situation as viewed by the criminal mind. These people know exactly how to exploit weaknesses in the system, and the consequences can be catastrophic.

An aircraft flight deck can be defended most effectively by a physical barrier. The Israelis realized that many years ago when they implemented a double door system that has never been circumvented by a hijacker. The key lies in having an unbreachable cockpit door, realizing that every door is vulnerable every time it is opened. This means that the door has to be defended from the outside, not from within the cockpit. Once the door is breached there is no possibility of repelling a well planned attack.

The new fortified cockpit door will, if unprotected, make hijacking much easier for the trained terrorist. In the past hijackers boarded aircraft in groups of five or more, and it was the duty of several of them to prevent passengers from attacking those who commandeered the cockpit. With the new fortified, bulletproof door there is little need for the group approach, as there is no need to control the passengers. One person gaining entry to the cockpit can lock out everyone else, and he needs no help. All the help he needs is already built into the aircraft; it is simply a matter of using that to his advantage. A single, unarmed hijacker can now take over the largest aircraft, and do so at little risk to himself.

One of the greatest difficulties suicide hijackers face is finding accomplices willing to die for the cause. That can take years of indoctrination, brainwashing, training and planning. The investigation of the 9/11 hijackings revealed that a number of the participants probably were not told they were on a suicide mission. It took a long time to assemble and train this group, and it would probably have taken much longer if they had all known they were going to die. It might not even have been possible to find enough terrorists sufficiently committed to the cause.

People willing to train for years so they can kill themselves are not easy to find, and assembling a large number of them may be impossible. Now that may no longer be a problem, as we are making it possible for one unarmed person to “go it alone”. Everything they need will be provided for them by their victims. You and I are unwittingly making their job much easier.

The final resolution of this issue will be strongly influenced by public opinion, insurance companies, regulatory agencies and governments. What will that outcome be? The solution needs to be much more comprehensive and foolproof than what we have seen so far. CRUPAX can perform that role extremely well, and at much lower cost.

See the CRUPAX System in action.