Guess What?! Planes DON’T have keys!

Published by Bobby Laurie | 4 comments

You couldn’t have missed the story. It’s everywhere. But, in case you did: a suspended Sky West Airlines pilot, who was suspended because he’s a possible suspect in the murder of his ex-girlfriend jumped over a fence at the St. George Airport in Utah, boarded a parked Sky West CRJ-200, started the engines and was taxiing out for departure when it clipped the wing of a plane parked close by and proceeded to scrape against the terminal and break through a fence. The pilot then killed himself.

Okay, we all know that story — but the media reports are killing me.

They’re making such a big deal over the fact that airplanes don’t have keys. That’s right. Keys. Does America really think that every pilot has a key to the ignition? Well, if that’s what America thought, thank god for ABC News.

Of course planes aren’t locked. Do you see a keyhole, or a place to lock it? Can you imagine having a plane “locked” in an emergency? “All the passengers and crew perished because the planes locking system malfunctioned and they couldn’t get out.” When planes are parked the doors are always closed and they’re pushed away from a gate. A normal mainline jetliner is so far off the ground worrying about someone just “opening” the door isn’t a concern. The CRJ-200 has built in airstairs and is made to be accessed from ground level.

This one is even funnier. I imagine those really fancy cars with the keypad which unlocks the doors when you don’t have your keys. Yet again, another system that would malfunction in an emergency. Not to mention, needs power to operate. The plane only receives power when the APU or engines are running how do you operate a system needing a “security code” without power?

Can you imagine every pilot, at every airline, carrying around keys for each aircraft? Or even every aircraft type? I mean, surely, you can’t make just one key which would access every airplane. Someone would scream “security breech!” What if it fell into the wrong hands? What if someone made a copy? What if someone wanted to use they keys to flee from Police in a murder case? Oh wait.. that already happened.

Thank you ABC News. Thanks for clarifying that planes don’t have keys. Next, you’ll inform us that they don’t have OnStar! Who are those poor Pilots going to call when they get lost?

ABC News: Planes don’t have Keys