Federal Flight Deck Officer

Under federal flight deck officer ffdo program tsa deputizes qualified volunteer pilots and flight crewmembers of passenger and cargo aircraft as law enforcement officers to defend the flight deck of aircraft against acts of criminal violence or air piracy.

Federal flight deck officer. About ffdos federal flight deck officers the september 11 2001 terrorist attacks tragically demonstrated the need for a multi layered approach to securing commercial airliners and in particular the cockpit from terrorist and criminal assault. Input your user name and the email associated with that user name. Federal flight deck officer ffdo program.

Despite that the programme isn t widely known. The inception of the federal flight deck officer ffdo program in 2001 as envisioned by the members of congress has been described as and still remains the first line of deterrence and the last line of defense against 9 11 style terrorist attacks. On november 25 2002 the homeland security act of 2002 was signed into law.

The federal flight deck officer program authorizes flight crew members to use firearms to defend against an act of criminal violence and air piracy while attempting to gain control of an aircraft. Tsa collects data on pilots to assess the qualification and suitability of prospective and current ffdos through an online application. Classes have run ever since.

A federal flight deck officer ffdo is an airplane pilot who is trained and licensed to carry weapons and defend commercial aircraft against criminal activity and terrorism the federal flight deck officer program is run by the federal air marshal service and an officer s jurisdiction is limited to the flight deck or cabin of a commercial airliner or a cargo aircraft while on duty. A current faa airman certificate. To be eligible you must have.

Title xiv of the law the arming pilots against terrorism act directed the. A federal flight deck officer shall not be liable for damages in any action brought in a federal or state court arising out of the acts or omissions of the officer in defending the flight deck of an aircraft against acts of criminal violence or air piracy unless the officer is guilty of gross negligence or willful misconduct. The federal flight deck officer program.

The first class of federal flight deck officers as the gun carrying pilots are known graduated in april 2003. If the user name and email exists you will receive an email containing a link to reset your password. For the benefit of the american people.