Evaluating Airline Pilot Attitudes Towards the Transportation Security Administration's Federal Flight Deck Officer Program

This dissertation examined the attitudes of airline pilots with respect to the Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) Program. Title XIV of the Homeland Security Act (Arming Pilots Against Terrorism) developed the FFDO Program in response to the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001. It became apparent in the post-911 environment that airline cockpits needed to be protected to prevent future hijackings that could result in airliners again being used as missiles, and the FFDO Program would provide this protection. An evaluation of the FFDO Program by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) found the Program results were unsatisfactory. Because the FFDOs were all volunteers, it was essential for their attitudes to be considered in implementing Program processes, procedures, and protocols. This qualitative grounded theory study attempted to identify factors which affected pilot attitudes towards the FFDO Program, and suggested strategies to improve rates of pilot participation. Participants were selected from four groups of volunteers (pilots and copilots with prior military service, and pilots and copilots from civilian backgrounds) and consisted of 25 pilots who responded to requests for participation posted on the Internet and through word-of-mouth (snowball) recruitment. Airline experience for the participants ranged from 2 years to 34 years, with an average of 20 years, and 13 of these participants were FFDOs. An overwhelming majority (92%) of the participants felt that FFDOs should be protecting domestic aircraft, and that the FFDO Program is effective. Only 52% of the respondents viewed the FFDO screening and selection process as either Good or Excellent, and 48% had a negative opinion of the management of the FFDO Program. The weapons transportation protocol and the locking holster each elicited a 52% negative response, and 68% of the respondents were adamantly against the current requirement that FFDOs pay for their own room and board while attending training. This study is a contribution to further understanding of pilot attitudes toward the FFDO Program. Improvements to the weapons transportation and carriage protocols, management of the FFDO Program, and FFDO expense reimbursement were recommended. Future research should consist of a quantitative study composed of questions formatted on a Likert scale, to enable researchers to assess opinions and relative convictions of these opinions of a large airline pilot sample.