Handgun Discharge Pilot Re-Hired

#tsa #guns .
Remember the pilot whose weapon discharged because of a faulty holster the TSA mandated all pilots with handguns use? An arbitrator has ordered US Airways to hire him back.

US Airways said Friday that Jim Langenhahn resumed training on Monday after an 18-month disciplinary suspension.

The airline said as part of the federal arbitrator's decision to reinstate Langenhahn, he will be barred from carrying a gun in the cockpit. After the 2001 terror attacks in which hijackers armed with knives seized four jetliners, pilots lobbied for the right to carry guns in the cockpit.

A 2002 federal law allowed pilots to carry handguns on board if they took part in a program run by the Transportation Security Administration, which includes a week of weapons training.

The item refers to the troubled holsters:

Langenhahn's case was strengthened when the Department of Homeland Security faulted the design of holsters used by pilots who carry their weapons on board planes. The department's inspector general said the design increased the chance of accidental discharge when pilots inserted their guns in the holsters.

The inspector general recommended that the TSA halt use of the locking holster and consider other methods for armed pilots to stow their weapons. The holsters have been in use since 2006.

TSA spokesman Nelson Minerly defended the holster design, saying they have been used "millions of times by thousands of (pilots) without incident."

"The system has been very reliable," he said.

Reliable except when it fails... Who in their right mind puts a metal bar into the trigger guard when designing a handgun holster?

Insanity.

Paul Huebl of CrimeFileNews broke the story of how this holster and weapon were made for mishap back in December 2007 and made a video of how the discharge would happen - and it did.

It's good that the pilot got his job back. It's bad that the TSA is STILL mandating use of this holster made for failure and that the pilot has been scapegoated for the holster failing.

Also See:
Previously:
TSA Holster Increases Chance for Accidental Discha...
Pilot Scapegoated
Did TSA Idiocy Cause Airline Gun Mishap?