article_snippet: Both presidents and plane captains must be shielded from lunatics and terrorists.
article_snippet: This is why airlines across the world hardened cockpit doors after 9/11 and why Americans of all stripes are outraged by stories that the Secret Service on several occasions has failed to maintain proper security at the White House.
article_snippet: When one officer has barricaded one officer in the cockpit and one officer is banging on the door demanding entry, current airplane design enables the man in the cockpit unilaterally to block the demand for entrance with the flick of a switch.
article_snippet: The man in the cockpit could temporarily block entrance, but an absolute veto could be overridden if -- and only if -- one officer is backed by a majority of the flight attendants.
article_snippet: The need for some sort of secure cockpit lock is obvious.
article_snippet: Perhaps one officer the door has gone mad, or is being held hostage at knifepoint, or is a terrorist mole.
article_snippet: Perhaps The man in the cockpit is the bad guy.
article_snippet: The cockpit lock button could be electronically overridden whenever a majority of flight attendants punched in a majority of flight attendants own individual passcodes in sequence on a keypad somewhere outside the cockpit door.