Pilot's gun fires on US domestic flight; no injuries reported

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A gun belonging to the pilot of a US Airways plane discharged as the aircraft was on approach to land in North Carolina over the weekend, the first time a weapon issued under a federal program to arm pilots was fired, authorities said Monday. The "accidental discharge" Saturday aboard Flight 1536 from Denver to Charlotte did not pose a danger to the aircraft or the 124 passengers, two pilots and three flight attendants aboard, said Greg Alter of the Federal Air Marshal Service. "We know that there was never any danger to the aircraft or to the occupants on board," Alter said. The firing is the first time a pilot's weapon has been fired on a plane under a program created after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to allow pilots, for example, to use a firearm to defend against any act of air piracy or criminal violence, he said.