After watching the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 investigation it made me think of a design which could prevent such incidents occurring in the foreseeable future. If there was a button on the MCP, a capped button with a red shield with a button inside the shield which wouldn't be mistaken for another button on the autopilot system. Once the button is pressed the aircraft would automatically squawk 7500 and the autopilot would lock a certain altitude, heading and speed (most likely best endurance speed) The only way to gain manual control of the aircraft again would be by entering a code into the FMC which would disengage the autopilot and resume the system to it's programmed operation. The only people who would have the code is operation personals and obviously the flight crew, each aircraft would have a specific code. Once the button is pressed no manual control what so ever could be initiated.  

 

Any other ideas?

The human factor will supercede every design you can think of. Once people start getting killed, a code won't be long to find.

The USAF teaches you that when your life is in jeopardy, give them whatever they want. 

 

Edit: That's if you're a pilot. 

The only way to make airliners hijack safe would be if it's impossible to enter the cockpit from the cabin area. The pilots would enter from an external door (the ONLY door), and have food, water, and restroom in the cockpit. The pilots wouldn't be able to access the cabin (or vice versa) even if they wanted to.

The only way to make airliners hijack safe would be if it's impossible to enter the cockpit from the cabin area. The pilots would enter from an external door (the ONLY door), and have food, water, and restroom in the cockpit. The pilots wouldn't be able to access the cabin (or vice versa) even if they wanted to.

Even if you have all that, what are you going to do if they threaten to blow up the plane or start killing people if those two pilots safely locked up there don't do as the hijackers wish?

If they blow up the plane, they can't hijack it. If they start killing people they would still be unable to hijack the plane. The pilots could simply terminate communication to the cabin area and make for the nearest airport.

The pilots could simply terminate communication to the cabin area and make for the nearest airport.

 

Than they be  able to deploy sleeping  gas  to the cabin area

If they blow up the plane, they can't hijack it. If they start killing people they would still be unable to hijack the plane. The pilots could simply terminate communication to the cabin area and make for the nearest airport.

Ok, so the plane came raining down in bits or everybody in the cabin has been shot dead. How is any of that a better outcome than a hijack?

The only way to make airliners hijack safe would be if it's impossible to enter the cockpit from the cabin area. The pilots would enter from an external door (the ONLY door), and have food, water, and restroom in the cockpit. The pilots wouldn't be able to access the cabin (or vice versa) even if they wanted to.

...and this is completely inconceivable because access to the cabin the ability to interact with the crew-passengers is vital in non-hijack emergency situations. Also, a fault in the electronic communication systems between the cabin and a closed-off cockpit would turn an otherwise normal flight into a rather dangerous one. 

Ok, so the plane came raining down in bits or everybody in the cabin has been shot dead. How is any of that a better outcome than a hijack?

 

It would always be a better outcome than hijackers crashing the plane into a college football stadium full of 80,000 fans on a Saturday afternoon. But I doubt the passengers would stand around while they got shot. If the hijackers on 9-11 hadn't been able to enter the cockpit, all the planes would have landed safely with some injured passengers and all the hijackers subdued and probably severely beaten at the hands of some justifiably angry passengers.

 

 

...and this is completely inconceivable because access to the cabin the ability to interact with the crew-passengers is vital in non-hijack emergency situations. Also, a fault in the electronic communication systems between the cabin and a closed-off cockpit would turn an otherwise normal flight into a rather dangerous one. 

 

You're probably right. But the thread asks the simple question of how to make an aircraft hijack proof. I submit that the ONLY way to do that is to make it impossible for anyone to enter the cockpit once the plane is moving (assuming the pilots are not the hijackers).

Easy... make the airplane 100% automated. No pilots or cabin crew. Board the airplane, sit down, and relax.

 

Save the P & M'ing until you're on the ground.

 

Yeah, right. FAA, TC and AOPA will LOVE that solution.

 

:rolleyes:

It would always be a better outcome than hijackers crashing the plane into a college football stadium full of 80,000 fans on a Saturday afternoon. But I doubt the passengers would stand around while they got shot. If the hijackers on 9-11 hadn't been able to enter the cockpit, all the planes would have landed safely with some injured passengers and all the hijackers subdued and probably severely beaten at the hands of some justifiably angry passengers.

 

 

 

You're probably right. But the thread asks the simple question of how to make an aircraft hijack proof. I submit that the ONLY way to do that is to make it impossible for anyone to enter the cockpit once the plane is moving (assuming the pilots are not the hijackers).

So if it is merely the 9-11 scenario that you propose this new design to protect aircraft from, you should know that there are plenty of other safeguards against that already, some of which you've mentioned yourself. But there really is no way to make an aircraft absolutely hijack proof, even if you completely remove the cockpit and make the plane completely automated. Because there will still be some type of air to ground link and that will present the opportunity of a hijacker to hack into and take control of the aircraft and crash it into that football stadium. And even if we build your airplane with an inaccessible human cockpit, hijackers can still take control of it....

At some point, all commercial airliners will be controlled 100% from the ground. The pilots will just be there to watch.

Simple solution: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Flight_Deck_Officer