Polls have shown that 73% of airline pilots (and similar percentages of passengers) want the FAA to allow pilots (with proper training) to carry handguns in the cockpit to stop hijackers from taking over their planes. Intelligence from Afghan caves shows that al Qaeda still plans to use American airliners as flying bombs and the incident in which a deranged passenger nearly broke into the cockpit of United Flight 855 have all but silenced the critics. Still opposed to the idea are the usual opponents of handguns in any situation, plus some airline executives who fear the weapons could become an insurance liability issue.--Stephen V Cole