Ten Dangerous Scenarios

Attack a nuclear plant

Cripple the
Transportation System

Destroy the
Fort Peck Dam

Detonate a suitcase bomb

Attack the Alaska pipeline

Contaminate a ventilation system

Cut off power to
a major city

Shoot down
Air Force One

Attack a chemical factory

Destroy a stadium

>> See the entire list <<

Scenario: Pilot Hijacks Jumbo Jet

Scenario

Instead of passengers hijacking a plane, a terrorist trains as a pilot, gets a job and then diverts a jumbo jet to use it as a bomb.

Description

This scenario was portrayed in the opening scene of the book Executive Orders by Tom Clancy. A pilot takes off, flies the normal flight plan and then at the last minute diverts the plane and crashes it into the nation's capital in Washington DC. In the book, the President, Vice President, almost all of congress and the cabinet are all in the Capital at the time for an event, and the government of the United States is decapitated in an instant.

Once in possession of a plane, the pilot can fly it into any number of targets. If these targets are relatively close to the flight plan, they are trivial to hit without detection. Targets include:

  • A major building or monument
  • A government facility like the white house, the capital or unprotected government office buildings
  • A corporate headquarters
  • A nuclear power plant
  • Major bridges
  • A stadium full of people
  • and so on...

Damage Potential

As Demonstrated on September 11, 20,000 gallons of jet fuel has quite a bit of destructive potential. A fully fueled jumbo jet can destroy just about any man-made structure in existence today, including nuclear reactors at commercial power plants. In a highly populated area, the death toll could easily rise above ten thousand.

Potential Solutions

This scenario is not covered by the solutions described in the Jumbo Jet Hijacking Scenario, because all current solutions assume the passengers hijack the plane rather than the pilot.

One possible way to secure planes from hijackings would be to make the airplanes themselves, through the auto-pilot, aware of all off-limit airspaces. Under this system, the auto-pilot would use GPS signals along with an internal map to understand restricted airspace. If anyone, pilot included, tried to fly toward for example the White House, the plane would simply refuse. This system could protect any major building, sports stadiums, nuclear reactors, etc.

See Solutions for further details.

Related Links


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