Plane crash an act of terrorism?

[98NCCalum]

I can play this fun game too.

 

terrorism

 

 

/ˈtɛrəˌrɪzəm/

 

noun

1.systematic use of violence and intimidation to achieve some goal

 

Crashing a plane is certainly violent and I'd say his goal was achieved.

 

Terrorism.

 

 

 

[UKMustangFan]

Terrorism is commonly defined as violent acts (or the threat of violent acts) intended to create fear (terror), perpetrated for a religious, political, or ideological goal, and which deliberately target or disregard the safety of non-combatants (e.g., neutral military personnel or civilians).

 

I would say the fact that a pilot would lock another pilot out of the cockpit and intentionally crash the plane, killing all on board, would sufficiently create fear in civilians, especially those who fly frequently...:idunno:

[UKMustangFan]

So words and definitions are unimportant when reporting on events in the news? We're fine with people calling any act of violence terrorism if they so choose?

 

Except for the fact that it does meet definitions of terrorism....

[bugatti]

What was odd was that the co-pilot was silent when taking down the plane. You would think if it was one of these groups he would have had some kind of message or the terror organization would have taken credit by now (and maybe they have?).

[Getslow]

I can play this fun game too.

 

terrorism

 

 

/ˈtɛrəˌrɪzəm/

 

noun

1.systematic use of violence and intimidation to achieve some goal

 

Crashing a plane is certainly violent and I'd say his goal was achieved.

 

Terrorism.

 

 

 

 

Any definition of terrorism that fails to mention as one of its elements a political or social goal is inherently flawed. Where did you find that?

[Jumper_Dad]

What if he had said "God is Great" or "Allahu Akbar" on the recording just before the plane crashed...would that make it terrorism?

 

Regardless what he said or is learned of his motive, he had a reason that he did it this way. If he was suicidal there are plenty of ways to do that without killing so many innocent people, IMO he was trying to make a statement...whatever that is.

[98NCCalum]

Any definition of terrorism that fails to mention as one of its elements a political or social goal is inherently flawed. Where did you find that?

I'm not going to pretend I'm more intelligent than you, but I do believe words can have multiple meanings. Also I believe words and their definitions can change with time. This is one of those. People are nuts. People are doing things simply to invoke fear in the public, whether they have a political goal or intent in mind or not, people are doing just that.

 

That is terrorism, plain and simple, and to argue otherwise is silly.

[98NCCalum]

And I found that definition at a weird little site call Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com

[Getslow]

I'm not going to pretend I'm more intelligent than you, but I do believe words can have multiple meanings. Also I believe words and their definitions can change with time. this is one of those. People are nuts. People are doing things simply to invoke fear in the public, whether they have a political goal or intent in mind or not, people are doing just that.

 

That is terrorism, plain and simple, and to argue otherwise is silly.

 

Was he doing it to invoke fear? Was he doing it to get his ex-wife to finally look up from her now-happy life and finally notice him? Was he doing it because having that feeling of power over life and death was a thrill to him? Was he doing it because he found out he was terminally ill and saw that his everyday job gave him the perfect way to just escape it all without any pain?

 

We can't definitively answer any one of those questions.

 

Not every murderous sociopath is a terrorist.

[Getslow]

And I found that definition at a weird little site call Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com

 

I still don't like the definition, but even that one has problems. "Use of violence" is pretty plain as he seems to have deliberately crashed a plane. Whether or not it was "systematic" or done in order to achieve a goal are, at this moment, unanswerable.

[Clyde]

I lean towards steering away from the "t word" until we know more. There's a presumption of govt retaliation that can be dangerous.

[True blue (and gold)]

So no chance that one pilot left the cockpit to use the restroom, the other pilot re-locks the door (per policy, perhaps) and then had a heart attack?

[littleluck55]

So no chance that one pilot left the cockpit to use the restroom, the other pilot re-locks the door (per policy, perhaps) and then had a heart attack?

 

There are safeguards to reopen the door from the outside if someone locks themselves out but it can be overridden from inside the cockpit.

[littleluck55]

When I put terrorism in dictionary.com, this is what I get:

 

terrorism

[ter-uh-riz-uh m]

IPA Syllables

Examples Word Origin

noun

1.

the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes.

2.

the state of fear and submission produced by terrorism or terrorization.

3.

a terroristic method of governing or of resisting a government.

[UKMustangFan]

So no chance that one pilot left the cockpit to use the restroom, the other pilot re-locks the door (per policy, perhaps) and then had a heart attack?

 

If I'm not mistaken, don't 2 people have to be present in the cockpit at all times?

 

I know when I was flying back from St. Lucia in December, both pilots used the restroom during the flight. When one went into the restroom, one of the flight attendants went into the cockpit, until the pilot returned.