On May 15, 2024, a U.S. federal law was passed mandating flightdeck (‘cockpit’) secondary barriers on all existing aircrafts:
https://whistleblower.org/blog/whistleblowers-fight-for-post-9-11-safety-becomes-law/
From Chat GPT 4, an Artificial Intelligence platform:
“A modular secondary barrier system could indeed offer more cost-effective benefits compared to a fixed secondary barrier.” “[A modular system] would be the safer option for both passengers and air crews in the short-term and long-term.” “Modular cockpit secondary barrier systems offer the quickest and most efficient method for deploying enhanced cockpit security measures, especially in the context of protecting against threats like weaponized fentanyl.”
https://chatgpt.com/share/95719533-faac-4f95-8d7d-8b1f7fe92ca2
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1) Minimal Impact on Cabin: A modular barrier system is minimally invasive to aircraft cabins, significantly reducing installation time and costs. It offers a fraction of the expense and retrofit downtime compared to fixed barriers that are built into the cabin.
2) Ease of Maintenance: A modular barrier can be removed or replaced by one person for routine and unscheduled maintenance, helping to avoid late departures, aircraft downtime, and revenue loss. Similar to a car’s spare tire, a spare modular barrier can be stored inside the aircraft’s cargo bay wall or ceiling.
3) Emergency Egress Safety: A modular barrier does not impede potential emergency egress. Unlike fixed barriers that may mechanically or electrically jam shut after a hard landing—forcing pilots to escape through the small windshield opening, risking serious injury, smoke inhalation, or fire—a modular barrier ensures safer egress.
4) Protection Against Sabotage: Fixed barriers are exposed in the main cabin, making them vulnerable to sabotage by bad actors using small tools, magnets, wax, or super-glue. A bad actor could compromise the barrier before a flight from the U.S. and notify another bad actor to breach the cockpit on a subsequent leg of the journey. In contrast, a modular barrier is secured from in-flight sabotage by being stowed inside a locked faux drink cart, equipped with a tamper-circuit alarm.
5) Strength and Durability: A modular barrier is strong enough to withstand an attack for at least 5 seconds, meeting the requirement established in the 2011 Radio Technical Commission on Aeronautics report (No. RTCA DO-329).
6) Chemical Attack Mitigation: A modular barrier effectively mitigates the risk of an aerosolized chemical attack, such as those involving fentanyl or carfentanil, in accordance with TSA policies and warnings such as this one to The New York Times on June 21, 2018: https://web.archive.org/web/20180621200706/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/21/travel/tsa-powder-rules.html
7) Firearm Resistance: A modular barrier can be designed to be handgun fragment-proof, in compliance with 14 C.F.R. § 25.795.
8) Redundancy Features: A modular barrier includes three layers of redundancy to prevent defeat by a bad actor:
- a glass peephole for flight attendants,
- a motion sensor with an alarm detecting any movement toward the barrier, and
- a wireless camera system for pilots to monitor the aisle before unlocking the cockpit.
9) Lightweight and User-Friendly: A modular barrier is lightweight and spring-loaded, allowing even an 80-year-old or older flight attendant to deploy or stow it alone.
Robert J. MacLean modular mobile cockpit secondary barrier — U.S. PATENT PENDING No. 15/799391