On the one hand, they don't want to scare paying customers with frightening scenarios that might never take place.

        On the other hand, Greater Cincinnati pilots who fly commercial jets say they're ready: Ready to flip their planes or depressurize passenger cabins, ready to do whatever it takes to disable terrorists in the sky.

        In the month since terrorists hijacked four passenger planes and led them to doom, the once-routine act of flying has taken on new meaning.

        That became clear in three incidents last week.

        On Saturday, a US Airways flight from Charlotte, N.C., to Denver was diverted to India napolis after a flight attendant found a powdery substance on the plane. Tests by the state health department found the substance was not hazardous.

        On Wednesday,fighter jets escorted a Delta Air Lines flight to an unscheduled stop in Louisiana after a passenger reportedly slipped a threatening note to a flight attendant. On Monday,passengers tackled an apparently mentally ill man who tried to crash into the cockpit of an American Airlines flight. The man was subdued, but two fighter jets escorted that plane to Chicago.

        These incidents, coupled with Bush administration orders that hijacked jetliners may be shot down if they pose a greater threat, underscore to local pilots the responsibility they bear.

        Events like those on the two flights “just show how piecemeal these security measures are,” says Steven Aue, an 11-year Delta Air Lines captain from West Harrison, Ind. who flies MD-88 jets. “They won't let us volunteer to be air marshals or to arm ourselves, but

        they're willing to shoot us down. It's a tough situation for us.”

        The Enquirer interviewed 10 pilots over the past week for their views on the Sept. 11 attacks, what they might do in an in-flight crisis, and what they're telling passengers.

        All except one requested anonymity so they could talk without repercussions from their employer or union. Delta, for example, has a strict rule against employees speaking to the media.

        “All airline pilots have lived through close calls with crashes, and we all have friends who have died in crashes, either in the military or in civilian life,” says an international pilot who flies 757s and 767s, the same type of jets that crashed Sept. 11.

        “But this is something completely different,” he says. “It's changed us into the first line of defense.”

        Mr. Aue was the only pilot willing to be identified, as he was speaking on behalf of his union. He is the local security chairman for the airline's branch of the Air Line Pilots Association, which he says supports its pilots' use of defensive actions.

Defensive measures

        The pilots union also has asked for permission for pilots to carry guns, but President Bush is skeptical about that idea. Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration and individual airlines have given pilots new, undisclosed procedures to use in the event of an attempted terrorist attack.

        And most airlines are reinforcing all cockpit doors with steel bars and requiring pilots to stay locked inside during flight.

        Local pilots, who fly for Delta, Comair and other carriers, say the first rule of post-Sept. 11 flight is to be calm — yet wary and prepared.

        And if necessary, the pilots say they're willing, as a last resort, to:

        • Use the airplane itself as a weapon. Some say they might try to disable a potential attacker by doing everything from rocking the plane to flipping it upside down to sending it into a steep dive.

        “These planes have more maneuverability than one would think, although there are limits,” says one pilot, who lives in Burlington, Ky.

        Says a 12-year pilot from Anderson Township, who also flies 757s and 767s: “If one or two people get killed, compared with thousands on the ground, then at this point, yes, I'm willing to make that trade. But if you go too far, you could put the aircraft into jeopardy, and the entire plane goes down.”

        • Rapidly depressurize the cabin, or allow the artificial atmosphere created inside an airliner to be replaced by the air outside. At 30,000 feet, this would be life-threatening to anyone not wearing an oxygen mask.

        • Use a firearm loaded with special bullets — if approved by federal regulators — that could stop humans but not pierce the plane's hull. The pilots union endorses the idea, but pilots are split.

        “I don't envision myself as some John Wayne up there,” says a veteran 727 pilot from Burlington.

        A 14 1/2-year MD-88 pilot says he's in favor of allowing arms in the cockpit.

        “It would be up to the pilot in question, but the deterrence factor would be incredible, because you wouldn't know who had a gun and who didn't,” he says.

Keeping watch

        Some pilots say they are ready to use whatever weapons are available, including pens, nail clippers — even the crash axe that is standard equipment in all commercial jetliners.

        As for their approach with passengers, most of the pilots say they're staying low-key.

        “I thank them (passengers) for doing their patriotic duty by even getting on the airplane,” says one Anderson Township pilot. “I also say that everything has been done that can be done to make the journey safe and try to make it as reassuring as possible and as positive as possible.”

        Even so, the pilots say they're keeping a closer eye on passengers, a move advocated by their union.

        “I make sure to meet and greet them all, not that I didn't do that before,” the 727 captain says. “But now, I look them in the eye to try and get a sense of what kind of person they are.”

        Even though they remain ready, the pilots say they believe that airport and airline security have improved since Sept. 11. And they don't think a repeat of last month's events is likely.

        “If anyone tried anything, the passengers would probably mob him,” says the international pilot who flies 757s and 767s.

        “But that being said, we're all thinking about what could happen. Myself personally, I can't tell you what I would do until it happens, because there are so many variations out there.

        “But I can say that we're all ready for it.”

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