As much as I long for the time when pilots invited the curious to peek into their cockpits and strolled along airplane aisles, making conversation with passengers, terrorists have relegated those days to history – along with the high sense of security that air travelers once enjoyed.

So, why should we be hesitant, nervous or squeamish about arming properly trained pilots with handguns to help protect the flying public?

That issue has floated into international discussions of late because the U.S. government properly seeks to expand a post-Sept. 11, 2001, program that allows American pilots to pack heat on domestic flights. Washington aims to extend that practice to international flights.

I say, let the proposal take off – and not because my inclinations tilt toward turning the skies into the Wild, Wild West. Rather, an armed pilot represents a practical response to an ever-present danger.

In fact, the threat that terrorists pose is not limited to domestic flights; it’s a global problem. Moreover – and let’s get really serious here – modern society depends heavily on commercial aviation for tourism, transportation, economic development, communication and trade. We cannot afford disruption in that sector for any length of time. Terrorists, meanwhile, can cause incredible damage and fear with relatively simple and accessible weapons and training, as they amply demonstrated on Sept. 11.

Now, the idea of authorized guns on aircraft is hardly new. Air marshals came on board to bolster in-flight teams decades ago, when an earlier generation of terrorists began nabbing jets and redirecting them, often to countries that sympathized with the perpetrators’ aims. But, in contrast with today’s suicidal hijackers, those terrorists preferred to land safely and live to conduct other attacks.

After the Sept. 11 attacks, to assist in signaling passengers that corporate and governmental authorities were reasserting control over airliners, the U.S. government allowed qualified pilots to take handguns into the cockpit. It doesn’t require much analysis to understand that armed pilots serve as a deterrent to would-be hijackers. As a regular air traveler, having flown domestically and internationally hundreds of times since Sept. 11, I find every reasonable precaution appealing.

Mind you, the arming of pilots should and does involve much more than purchasing a weapon from a neighborhood store and adding it to an overnight bag. Training is required for pilots who wish to tote handguns, as are regular requalifying and refresher courses. Besides, many pilots have military experience. To date, I am unaware of any problems with the program.

But I am well aware of problems stemming from inadequate security. If the pilots of the hijacked planes on Sept. 11 had carried handguns, they would have had a better chance against the box-cutter-and-knife-wielding, misguided miscreants who thought their acts of evil would yield eternal rewards. Handguns would have given those pilots an equalizer, a last-resort line of defense against the hijackers.

Already, thousands of armed U.S. air marshals travel as passengers on both domestic and international flights, although not to every country. Therefore, the question is not one of having authorized handguns aboard planes but of increasing the number of people who have the right to carry them.

Some argue that no one but air marshals should possess handguns on planes. But what if terrorists manage to overwhelm them? In that event, pilots are left to depend on the strength of the cockpit door.

Others advocate a different approach: Not only should more pilots be authorized to carry guns, but those already trained should be allowed access to their weapons even when they are traveling as passengers. Presently, pilots outside the cockpit must keep their handguns virtually inaccessible. The lifting of that restriction, say supporters, would unleash many potential defenders to deal with hijackings.

I have not yet made up my mind on that one. But I am interested in what readers have to say about this issue. Is the United States right to ask to arm pilots on international flights? Should armed pilots be restricted to the cockpit, or should they be allowed to contribute to the defense of the cabin?

Kindly e-mail responses to jbersia@orlandosentinel.com, and I will summarize the results in a future column on armed pilots.