The installation of secondary cockpit barriers on all commercial passenger aircraft would be required to prevent terrorist attacks under bipartisan legislation sponsored on Feb. 8 by U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA).
“Ensuring the safety of our nation’s aircraft is paramount to protecting the American public,” Rep. Fitzpatrick said on Tuesday.
The Saracini Enhanced Aviation Act of 2021, H.R. 911, which the congressman introduced with lead cosponsor U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), would mandate the installation of inexpensive, lightweight, wire-mesh gates between the passenger cabin and cockpit door on all existing aircraft to block access to the flight deck when the cockpit door is opened during flight, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Fitzpatrick’s office.
The bill is named in honor of Bucks County, Pa., resident Capt. Victor Saracini, who was killed after the United Flight 175 he was piloting was hijacked by terrorists and deliberately flown into the South Tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
“It is unacceptable that nearly 20 years after terrorists breached the cockpit of my husband’s airplane on September 11, 2001, our skies are still susceptible to repeat this act of terrorism,” said Capt. Saracini’s widow, Ellen Saracini, who has been a national advocate for aviation safety since the 9/11 attacks. “It is my mission to ensure we are doing everything we can to protect the flight deck aboard our nation’s airliners because, without secondary barriers, we are just as vulnerable today, as we were on that fateful day.”
In fact, a study commissioned by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other industry stakeholders determined that a secondary barrier is the safest, most cost-effective and most efficient way to protect the cockpit.
“Congress previously made progress in ensuring that all future commercial aircraft are equipped with secondary barriers, so we must build on that momentum in this 117th Congress and include the same requirement for all existing commercial passenger aircraft,” said Rep. Fitzpatrick, who wants “to ensure that the devastating horrors of 9/11 never happen again.”
U.S. Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) plan to introduce the companion bill in the U.S. Senate. The bill has been endorsed by the Air Line Pilots Association.