There were many objections to arming pilots after 9-11 — not the least with the danger of intentionally adding a gun to flights that could be taken by terrorists or mishandled by pilots. For those critics, a US Airways flight from Denver will likely be cited often: a pilot accidentally discharged his weapon in the cockpit during the flight.
It is not currently known where the round ended up in the Airbus A319, which was taken out of service. None of the 124 passengers were injured and the pilot was a member of the the pilot is part of TSA’s Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) program, which trains pilots to carry guns on flights.
Notably, the danger of accidental discharges was one of the issues looked at by Congress in deciding whether to approve this program, here.
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