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Man Who Stole Plane Near Seattle Raises Troubling Security Question

nytimes.com

121–130 of 213 posts

Re: Man Who Stole Plane Near Seattle Raises Troubling Security Question

#121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Many people commit suicide without such a final moment of exhilaration. ...and without costing tax payers (F-15 fighter jets scrambling) and private companies (the airlines that owned the crashed plane) millions of dollars, causing stress and anxiety to people boarding other flights at Seattle airport and the subsequent delays to everyone else.

You’ve clearly never been suicidal. When you are, you don’t care about anything; not even yourself. Also, nothing scares you. So when you finally kill yourself, pain to yourself and others are the least of your worries.

But that was not the case here. The guy was pretty open about not wanting to hurt or even inconvenience anyone else.

Re: Man Who Stole Plane Near Seattle Raises Troubling Security Question

#122

The article title seems like an overreaction to a really sad situation. We have to trust at least someone, and although he clearly had some issues (maybe recent), he wasn't out to hurt anyone or aligned with any groups that wanted to inflict harm. Fighter jets were there immediately, people tried to talk him down, and he was lost. Nothing better could have been done all around. Yes, commercial planes could be keycode…

The articles I've read said indicate that a "Taxi Capable" employee would be empowered to start up the aircraft, so it's not even clear whether security precautions would be relevant here.

I'm surprised that taxi capable employees are left by themselves to do this kind of work. This could've been preventable had there been a second person in the cockpit as well.

Re: Man Who Stole Plane Near Seattle Raises Troubling Security Question

#123

It seems to me to be a continuation of the pattern of labor 'Going Postal' in the labor hostile environment that has emerged since Reagan. This should be a wake-up call to everyone in the country. We can't survive without being able to trust and respect each other as human beings. Part of that is recognizing that even the most humble occupations deserve a fair wage and chance at advancement in life. If we can't respe…

Pointless attempt to tie a political view to a tragedy, please don't do this. There have been massacres, bombings, dramatic suicides, etc long before the Reagan administration and none of them have claimed "If I would have only had 20% more compensation I wouldn't have violently murdered these 20 people."

P.S. It's godspeed, not "God speed".

Re: Man Who Stole Plane Near Seattle Raises Troubling Security Question

#124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The articles I've read said indicate that a "Taxi Capable" employee would be empowered to start up the aircraft, so it's not even clear whether security precautions would be relevant here.

I'm surprised that taxi capable employees are left by themselves to do this kind of work. This could've been preventable had there been a second person in the cockpit as well.

Does this second person live in the cockpit 24/7? This guy got in an unoccupied plane.

Re: Man Who Stole Plane Near Seattle Raises Troubling Security Question

#125

It seems to me to be a continuation of the pattern of labor 'Going Postal' in the labor hostile environment that has emerged since Reagan. This should be a wake-up call to everyone in the country. We can't survive without being able to trust and respect each other as human beings. Part of that is recognizing that even the most humble occupations deserve a fair wage and chance at advancement in life. If we can't respe…

Pointless attempt to tie a political view to a tragedy, please don't do this. There have been massacres, bombings, dramatic suicides, etc long before the Reagan administration and none of them have claimed "If I would have only had 20% more compensation I wouldn't have violently murdered these 20 people." P.S. It's godspeed, not "God speed".

I'd suggest looking at more data before we cast politics aside - I would like to compare the amount of mental health issues that manifest themselves like this one ranging up to mass violence with other countries. My hypothesis is countries with a larger middle class and robust social care (such as access to affordable health care) have less of these events.

Re: Man Who Stole Plane Near Seattle Raises Troubling Security Question

#126

It seems to me to be a continuation of the pattern of labor 'Going Postal' in the labor hostile environment that has emerged since Reagan. This should be a wake-up call to everyone in the country. We can't survive without being able to trust and respect each other as human beings. Part of that is recognizing that even the most humble occupations deserve a fair wage and chance at advancement in life. If we can't respe…

Pointless attempt to tie a political view to a tragedy, please don't do this. There have been massacres, bombings, dramatic suicides, etc long before the Reagan administration and none of them have claimed "If I would have only had 20% more compensation I wouldn't have violently murdered these 20 people." P.S. It's godspeed, not "God speed".

No one says that outright but poverty and violent extremism are pretty closely linked. Its not the only factor ofc, and youll always have outliers, but comfortable people with things worth losing are less likely to do something to endanger that.

Re: Man Who Stole Plane Near Seattle Raises Troubling Security Question

#127

It seems to me to be a continuation of the pattern of labor 'Going Postal' in the labor hostile environment that has emerged since Reagan. This should be a wake-up call to everyone in the country. We can't survive without being able to trust and respect each other as human beings. Part of that is recognizing that even the most humble occupations deserve a fair wage and chance at advancement in life. If we can't respe…

Pointless attempt to tie a political view to a tragedy, please don't do this. There have been massacres, bombings, dramatic suicides, etc long before the Reagan administration and none of them have claimed "If I would have only had 20% more compensation I wouldn't have violently murdered these 20 people." P.S. It's godspeed, not "God speed".

Why pointless? It seemed quite pointful to me. In fact, I would go so far as to say that salawat's point, far from being pointless, is actually correct, and we ignore it at our peril.

Re: Man Who Stole Plane Near Seattle Raises Troubling Security Question

#128

It seems to me to be a continuation of the pattern of labor 'Going Postal' in the labor hostile environment that has emerged since Reagan. This should be a wake-up call to everyone in the country. We can't survive without being able to trust and respect each other as human beings. Part of that is recognizing that even the most humble occupations deserve a fair wage and chance at advancement in life. If we can't respe…

Pointless attempt to tie a political view to a tragedy, please don't do this. There have been massacres, bombings, dramatic suicides, etc long before the Reagan administration and none of them have claimed "If I would have only had 20% more compensation I wouldn't have violently murdered these 20 people." P.S. It's godspeed, not "God speed".

It's less politics, and more to do with empathy for the common man. Mental illness is at an all-time high, wages are low, poverty is incredibly visible, and based off of postings on Reddit, Facebook, etc. there's a general attitude of being despondent due to the current economic and political climate. Something has to change, and it can only really start at the top - with government taking care of its citizens rather than constantly destroying the few social safety nets left.

Re: Man Who Stole Plane Near Seattle Raises Troubling Security Question

#129

It seems to me to be a continuation of the pattern of labor 'Going Postal' in the labor hostile environment that has emerged since Reagan. This should be a wake-up call to everyone in the country. We can't survive without being able to trust and respect each other as human beings. Part of that is recognizing that even the most humble occupations deserve a fair wage and chance at advancement in life. If we can't respe…

Often these types of suicides aren't given publicity, though this one was too much of a spectacle to ignore.

There was a man who shot himself on the steps of a government(?) building, which is a town over from where I'm originally from, because he was laid off.

A friend showed me the note he left on Facebook before it got deleted. It was very clear that he had been struggling financially for years and the layoff was the final straw.

In a sense, the way he went out was his attempt to bring attention to the problems he faced and believes others were facing, too. While I'm not an advocate of martyrdom, it's kind of sad that the very act he thought would shine light on his suffering was disappeared from the record.

Re: Man Who Stole Plane Near Seattle Raises Troubling Security Question

#130
post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Taking off and flying a plane in calm conditions is actually not that hard. Getting where you are going safely, without running out of fuel, and landing are the tricky parts.

Taking off and cruising aren't hard, but low altitude loops and rolls certainly are.

Not if you don't care if you die.
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