Reid was found on an American airlines flight from Paris........and was apparantly restrained useing seatbelts having been taken down by stewardesses and passengers.....no firearms involved. This was less than four months after the twin tower/ hijacks. I suspect Europe was still in the belief that this was an American problem.
Oops, another of my mistakes. He was a British citizen flying out of Paris.
Passengers complained of a burning smell. An acquaintance of mine named Cristina saw him trying to light a fuse, and grabbed him. He bit her badly, and her screaming initiated quite a brawl. He was eventually restrained with, among other things, a large dose of Valium and a big fellow holding his ponytail from the seat behind.
No firearms were aboard that flight, the legislation that allowed it had not yet been passed, no pilots had yet been trained. Not that they would have served a purpose anyway. I freely admit that firearms won't always protect one from bombs, meteorites or smallpox. They seem, however, to have deterred further hijackings.