TSA Holster Snafu

I thought this was kinda interesting. It may be old news to some of you but its new to me. What it amounts to is if the weapon is not fully seated in the holster, you put the stupid ass padlock on the holster, then you seat the weapon...you get a bang. this problematical in an aircraft cockpit. The potential arises every time an armed pilot leaves the cockpit since they are not allowed to take the weapon out of the cockpit with them. Kinda silly but this is the TSA and that kinda defines them don't it.



SOURCE:Flight International
DHS watchdog confirms holster problems for armed pilots
By John Croft

Concerns voiced by federal flightdeck officers over poorly designed
holsters for their hand guns have been validated in a recently
issued report by the Department of Homeland Security's office of
inspector general (OIG).

Potential issues with guns in the cockpit were highlighted in March
when a US Airways pilot, armed as part of the Transportation
Security Administration's federal flightdeck officer programme,
accidentally fired his handgun while his Airbus A319 was on the
approach to Charlotte Douglas International airport in North
Carolina after a flight from Denver, Colorado. The bullet pierced
the left side of the cockpit and fuselage but did not cause any
damage to the flight critical systems. None of the passengers or
crew was hurt.

Although DHS officials will not confirm that the OIG investigation
was linked to the US Airways incident, the scope of the project - to
find out if the design of TSA-issued locking holsters used by the
federal flightdeck officer programme increases the likelihood of an
accidental discharge of a weapon in an aircraft cockpit - would
appear to link the two.

"We examined the holster and observed that its design renders the
weapon vulnerable to accidental discharges if improperly handled,"
says the OIG. "In a darkened cockpit, under the stress of meeting
the operational needs of the aircraft, a pilot could inadvertently
discharge the weapon by failing to ensure it is properly seated in
the holster, securing the trigger lock, and then pushing the weapon
inward to secure the holster snap."

Investigators also found that it was possible to fire the gun while
inserting the hasp, or trigger lock, into an "incorrectly seated"
weapon. "Using a scale, we determined that only 6-7lb [2.7-3.2kg] of
lateral pressure on the padlock was sufficient to induce a
discharge," the report says.

The OIG recommends a weapon locking system that is "simple and
forgiving" and suggests the TSA should discontinue the use of the
current locking holster and consider other methods for federal
flightdeck officers to secure their weapons." The DHS declines to
discuss the programme due to security concerns.