I suppose they could install a system that requires both pilots to enter a code to disable/isolate the transponders. But the more sensible solution is to focus on a system that prevents one pilot from locking the other out of the cockpit. It's simply a matter of giving each his own private unlock code.
Another level of defense would be a third transponder that squawks the hijack code activated by a panic button in the passenger cabin. This would also register in the cockpit so it could also be used to alert the crew that a hijacking is taking place in the pax cabin (but fused in the pax compartment with a dedicated battery a la the FDR's).
It doesn't take but a tiny bit of imagination to find these solutions. Unfortunately the industry often lacks even that.
And of course ongoing pilot screening and mental fitness assessments are the key issue here. A person who takes a planeload of passengers to their death is far from mentally balanced and should exhibit signs of mental stress to a trained interviewer.
Another level of defense would be a third transponder that squawks the hijack code activated by a panic button in the passenger cabin. This would also register in the cockpit so it could also be used to alert the crew that a hijacking is taking place in the pax cabin (but fused in the pax compartment with a dedicated battery a la the FDR's).
It doesn't take but a tiny bit of imagination to find these solutions. Unfortunately the industry often lacks even that.
And of course ongoing pilot screening and mental fitness assessments are the key issue here. A person who takes a planeload of passengers to their death is far from mentally balanced and should exhibit signs of mental stress to a trained interviewer.
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