[Roscoe]

Inadequate handgun rules designed by Department of Homeland Security officials are to blame for last weekend’s accidental discharge of a pistol by a commercial pilot during landing preparations, a pilots association said yesterday. “The pilot has to take his gun off and lock it up before he leaves the cockpit, so he was trying to secure the gun in preparation for landing, while he was trying to fly the airplane, too,” said David Mackett, president of the Airline Pilots Security Alliance. “In the process of doing that, the padlock that is required to be inserted into the holster pulled the trigger and caused the gun to discharge."

I figgered it was some nonsense like this.

This was the first report of a pilot’s gun being discharged on a plane.

Surprisingly.

APSA, an organization of pilots who lobby Congress on aviation security issues, said the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has refused to adopt standard carriage rules recommended last year by the Federal Air Marshal Service. “We complained to DHS two years ago that this was an unsafe rule,” Mr. Mackett said.

I can hardly wait to hear what the TSA considers safe.

Rather than carry the weapon on their person at all times, pilots must lock it up before opening the cockpit door, meaning pilots handle the gun as many as 10 times per flight, the association estimates. Pilots who have completed training to become federal flight deck officers (FFDOs) and carry weapons must use a holster used primarily as a home child-safety lock. A padlock is inserted through the holster and trigger guard, but, if inserted backward, it can trigger the gun, pilots say.

[bangs head on desk]

"It’s a completely unsafe system unless it’s used in a static environment — in a bedroom with good light. But to try to balance a gun on your lap and padlock it while flying an airplane 300 miles an hour, sometimes in the dark, is not secure,” Mr. Mackett said.

Well, du-uuh.
A loaded gun is safest in a holster… if you don’t fiddle with it. If you fiddle with it, it can fire.
Never, ever put a trigger lock on a loaded gun. Ever. It’s frigging dangerous!
(Did I remember to say “never?")