Knives in airplane cabins? No thanks

The TSA chief says that hand-held weapons may kill one or two people, but they can no longer be used to bring down an airplane. Why not? Because, he reasons, nowadays cockpit doors are hardened to withstand any breach. Pilots would remain safely sequestered behind those fortress doors regardless of mayhem in the cabin.

Passengers, in this post-9/11 era, would jump to disarm assailants, says Mr. Pistole. He cited the actions by my son and a handful of fellow passengers and flight attendants as they fought against armed al Qaeda attackers in a desperate bid to regain control of a hijacked Boeing on 9/11.

Yes, I agreed. Passengers are more wary now. Case in point: Passengers and crew subdued Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the “underwear bomber” on a Northwest Airlines flight in 2009.

But the TSA’s new plan is unconscionable. In the meeting with Mr. Pistole, I suggested that if the TSA follows through on this plan, all souls aboard should be issued an advisory: “Caution. During your flight today you may be called upon to fight for your life and the lives of your fellow passengers against knife-and-club-wielding attackers.”