Using Technology To Prevent Future Hijackings

from the how-good-an-idea-is-this? dept

Soon after this all started, someone on a mailing list suggested a simple solution to future hijackings: have a "I'm hijacked" button in the cockpit which allows people from the ground, or autopilot to simply take over the plane and take it out of the hands of everyone on the plane. Then there's very little reason for hijackers to hijack a plane again. It seems that others are suggesting the same idea. Others on the mailing list thought such a thing would be too difficult, but Steve Kirsch (founder of Infoseek, among other companies) seems to have put a lot of thought into it. Anyone have any thoughts on how well this would work?
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    Risky, 14 Sep 2001 @ 3:27am

    Hmmmm

    Bottom line is that in reality whilst the technology to allow remote control of the plane is perfectly possible, it wouldn't work :

    1) WHat if the hijacker presses the "hijack" button and an accomplice takes over the plane - you dont even need a trained pilot hijacker then. You can talk all you want about encryption and keys etc., but this is a perfectly reasonable scenario.

    2) The link clearly must be radio for it to be effective anywhere, so Hijackers simply have a jamming system that blots out signals.

    3) The hijackers simply wreck the cockpit and the plane crashes

    Techological solutions to human problems can always be beaten with enough will. (Which the nmd is such a stupid idea)

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      disk empty, 14 Sep 2001 @ 7:35am

      Re: Hmmmm

      read up boys planes already have them

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Disk Empty, 14 Sep 2001 @ 7:37am

      Re: Hmmmm

      Disk Empty did not post the last comment nor does Disk Empty belive it is true.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      SpaceTrucker, 14 Sep 2001 @ 10:11am

      Re: Hmmmm

      Control from an onboard computer without any external radio link is theoretically
      possible; they demonstrated landing jetliners on computer control alone many years ago (not with a 100% succes rate - there was a spectacular crash when they tried this at an airshow once - the computer thought the runway was off in the woods beyond the airfield for some reason).

      Yes, the highjackers will still be able to bring the plane down one way or the other, but they can't ram it into a target in a controlled fashion. That means less loss of life.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Todd Gilmer, 14 Sep 2001 @ 10:29am

    Hijacking deterents

    Another suggestion I thought deserved some attention is a "panic" button that will cause everyone BUT the pilots to lose consciousness. This could be achieved through some form of gas or by reducing cabin pressure until all onboard fall asleep (eg: The Langoliers). Sounds like a plan to me!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    ScooterBoy, 14 Sep 2001 @ 10:34am

    No Subject Given

    I think we should just perfect the "transporter" technology, like in star trek. then we don't have to have planes at all.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 14 Sep 2001 @ 11:53am

      Re: No Subject Given

      Oh please. Then they'll just hijack your particles and turn you into mush in the middle of the support columns of a building thus making it fall down.

      Get a clue.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        SpaceTrucker, 14 Sep 2001 @ 2:02pm

        Re: No Subject Given

        Since we're on the subject of sci fi transportation... These posts reminded me that I've always been skeptical about the "space elevator" concept because of things like what happened on Tuesday. What would stop a terrorist group from slamming a plane into the thing and splitting it in two? The lower part would fall down and the upper part, not being under as much tension anymore, would go whipsawing off into space like the end of a big bungee cord. Supposedly we could build such a thing if we figured out how to make bukeyball tubes long enough to be wound into cables.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Pilot, 14 Sep 2001 @ 3:37pm

    No Subject Given

    Planes already have the equivalent of a "hijack" button, and it already sends a signal to air traffic controllers and the FAA saying something is really wrong with this flight.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Dan Miller, 14 Sep 2001 @ 9:14pm

      Re: No Subject Given

      The procedure during a hijack is for the flight crew to set their transponder to a special four digit code that indicates that the plane has been taken over. That code hadn't been used in the U.S. for over 10 years when Tuesdays events started to unfold and still weren't used during these hijackings. It requires that the pilot actually enter the number in prior to being removed from the cockpit.

      The problem with the "press a button and give control to others" theory is that it presumes that hijackers don't have a knowledge of how to fly or operate planes. That's a valid assumptiom, based on hijackings of the past, but as we saw on Tuesday these were well coordinated attacks with highly trained individuals. Just as the system could be activated, it could be de-activated by an appropriately trained person.

      Reality of the situation is that you can't stop someone who wants to die, once a certain point is reached. The passengers on United flight 93 were able to save other lives, but not their own. We have to be willing to sacrifice the convenience of running to a plane 10 minutes before it leaves, in order to ensure a higher level of security.

      link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.