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3/06/2004 8:52pm,
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2435409
Book teaches passengers self-defense on airliners
By BRYON OKADA
Copyright 2004 Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Pilots are trained to prevent a terrorist from gaining control of a plane and to keep the reinforced cockpit doors shut -- even if people are dying on the other side.
The message to passengers: If terrorists try to take over a jetliner, be ready to fight for your life, because you may be on your own.
That's the point of a new book by a Grapevine commercial pilot and two law enforcement officers. Published by Brown Books Publishing of Dallas, Never Again is a self-defense manual written for passengers. It is to be released March 15.
"Passengers need something to help them be prepared, and information on how to defend themselves is just too valuable to not provide," said pilot and co-author Mark Bogosian.
The book discusses life-or-death crises, then offers an arsenal of self-defense tactics tailored to the cramped conditions of an airplane cabin.
"The information contained in this book might very well help save your life one day," the book says in its first sentence.
Techniques include gun and knife takeaways, chokes and countermoves, pressure-point grips, limb-trapping moves and other close-in maneuvers. One section deals with items commonly found in an airplane cabin that can be used as weapons or shields.
Bogosian and co-authors Tommy Hamilton and Michael Regan assembled the material in September 2002 for consideration as a federal cockpit and cabin defense manual.
At the time, the authors said the material was intended only for pilots and flight attendants. The book has been modified for easy reading by passengers with a new "word to passengers" section. But much of the material, including some crew defense tactics, remains unchanged.
Bogosian has a background in military aviation. Hamilton is a lieutenant with the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport Department of Public Safety SWAT team and has experience on the airport entry team, sniper team and hostage negotiation team. Regan is regional training manager for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, with an extensive background in law enforcement training, workplace violence and women's safety programs.
"Never Again has gained a tremendous amount of advance attention because of its timeliness," Brown Books Publisher Milli Brown said. "We recognized early on that the public needs the information in this book."
Federal law enforcement officers say the book's techniques would be effective.
More than once, the book emphasizes in bold type that passengers should follow the directions of the flight crew. The book discusses different types of passenger reactions and stresses "levels of force continuum" similar to what police use.
Flight attendants have a history of seeking help from able-bodied passengers in emergencies. But there is some concern that passengers' actions could make a cabin crisis worse.
With 9/11 seared into memories, passengers overreact more often, said Dawn Deeks, a spokeswoman for the Association of Flight Attendants, which represents 50,000 members from 26 airlines.
"You can't blame them for trying to assist," she said. "At the same time, these sorts of situations are predicated on split-second decisions. Sometimes passenger assistance is integral, and sometimes it can be dangerous."
Book teaches passengers self-defense on airliners
By BRYON OKADA
Copyright 2004 Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Pilots are trained to prevent a terrorist from gaining control of a plane and to keep the reinforced cockpit doors shut -- even if people are dying on the other side.
The message to passengers: If terrorists try to take over a jetliner, be ready to fight for your life, because you may be on your own.
That's the point of a new book by a Grapevine commercial pilot and two law enforcement officers. Published by Brown Books Publishing of Dallas, Never Again is a self-defense manual written for passengers. It is to be released March 15.
"Passengers need something to help them be prepared, and information on how to defend themselves is just too valuable to not provide," said pilot and co-author Mark Bogosian.
The book discusses life-or-death crises, then offers an arsenal of self-defense tactics tailored to the cramped conditions of an airplane cabin.
"The information contained in this book might very well help save your life one day," the book says in its first sentence.
Techniques include gun and knife takeaways, chokes and countermoves, pressure-point grips, limb-trapping moves and other close-in maneuvers. One section deals with items commonly found in an airplane cabin that can be used as weapons or shields.
Bogosian and co-authors Tommy Hamilton and Michael Regan assembled the material in September 2002 for consideration as a federal cockpit and cabin defense manual.
At the time, the authors said the material was intended only for pilots and flight attendants. The book has been modified for easy reading by passengers with a new "word to passengers" section. But much of the material, including some crew defense tactics, remains unchanged.
Bogosian has a background in military aviation. Hamilton is a lieutenant with the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport Department of Public Safety SWAT team and has experience on the airport entry team, sniper team and hostage negotiation team. Regan is regional training manager for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, with an extensive background in law enforcement training, workplace violence and women's safety programs.
"Never Again has gained a tremendous amount of advance attention because of its timeliness," Brown Books Publisher Milli Brown said. "We recognized early on that the public needs the information in this book."
Federal law enforcement officers say the book's techniques would be effective.
More than once, the book emphasizes in bold type that passengers should follow the directions of the flight crew. The book discusses different types of passenger reactions and stresses "levels of force continuum" similar to what police use.
Flight attendants have a history of seeking help from able-bodied passengers in emergencies. But there is some concern that passengers' actions could make a cabin crisis worse.
With 9/11 seared into memories, passengers overreact more often, said Dawn Deeks, a spokeswoman for the Association of Flight Attendants, which represents 50,000 members from 26 airlines.
"You can't blame them for trying to assist," she said. "At the same time, these sorts of situations are predicated on split-second decisions. Sometimes passenger assistance is integral, and sometimes it can be dangerous."