When to turn the plane around

Pilot  training
Unidentified United States commercial airline pilots practice defensive tactics on board a Boeing 727 at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center October 16, 2003 in Artesia, New Mexico. The Pilots are instructed in the use of firearms, defensive tactics, video simulations where a pilot has to make a shoot/no shoot decision, and simulations, where pilots use weapons that fire non-lethal ammunition so they can defend themselves.
Jake Schoellkopf/Getty Images

When a Northwest Airlines flight en route from the Netherlands to India was diverted back to Amsterdam, it was up to the pilot to make the decision to turn the plane around. Bob Hesselbein heads the National Security Committee of the Air Line Pilots Association, he explained to MPR's Tom Crann how pilots are prepared to handle security issues on board their aircraft.

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