The Nation - News from May 7, 1986

Placing armed federal marshals on U.S. aircraft might endanger passengers rather than deter terrorists, FBI Director William H. Webster said. Although he acknowledged that marshals on airliners “may make people feel better . . . I think that it’s potentially an increase in threat,” Webster told the National District Attorneys Assn.’s legislative conference in Washington. The Federal Aviation Administration has been putting gun-carrying plainclothes security personnel, not deputized as marshals, aboard commercial jetliners on some international and domestic flights for more than 15 years. Sky marshals “can’t use their weapons for fear of causing an explosion” or a crash, if a bullet pierces the skin of the jetliner at high altitude, Webster told the prosecutors.