This matter of arming the pilots of commercial aircraft tends to miss the point, as is the case with many considerations involving groups rather than individuals. Certainly nobody should be armed unless he is properly qualified, both mechanically and temperamentally, in the use of his instrument. You cannot arm a man by simply handing him a gun, and we would not want to see airlines handing out pistols to aircrews. On the other hand, if these people show the desire and the capacity to handle this problem, they should not only be allowed, but encouraged, to protect both themselves and their passengers. This is by no means an abstruse problem. There are all sorts of ways of checking people out in all sorts of skills, from skindiving to skydiving. It is, of course, necessary to remember that people are more significant as individuals than as members of groups.