Comments:Germany's minister of defence proposes to shoot down hijacked planes
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As a general aviation pilot who flies single-engine four-seat airplanes on the East Coast of the USA, I'm already very reluctant to dial 7500 (or any 7000 code) into my transponder for fear of attracting the wrong kind of attention from the ground. With a plicy like this, I'd take my chances with the deadly guy in the cabin, and keep the prospect of certain-death delivered by anti-aircraft ordinance out of it, thank you.
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[edit]Why not have hardware installed in planes by law instead that allows the government to hijack control of a plane from terrorists immediately upon discovery, and to control the plane by wire? Or an emergency system that locks out controls and causes the plane to circle until unlocked?
The EU has the power to alter the way aircraft industries operate, as easily demonstrated by the utterly and stupidly unfounded institution of legislation preventing passengers from carrying significant quantities of fluids onto planes. Installation of a remote control system in every plane would probably be cheaper than the expense of checking every passenger for fluids by far.
Of course, this is all assuming that there's a real chance of a hijacking occurring anytime soon worthy of concern; if Europe never got involved in America's random invasions of the Third World, there'd be less of a risk in the first place and normal life could have continued without fear of terrorists at every corner. This continued antagonism by the US is stirring up a hornet's nest of extremist activity that puts us all in the crosshairs.