An Example of American Hysteria

[Tiberius]

What if a plane were taken over?

What the fuck could an air traffic control agent do to help with that situation?

Er, let's see. Contact someone official in order to try and defuse the situation, or if the need be, shoot the plane down instead of having another 9/11? What if there was a struggle in the cockpit, and you've got a kid there completely oblivious? Pilots put their lives in the hands of ATCs, because when you have a fuckload of planes taking off and landing at the same location, you can't afford any screwups.

And why are we assuming that the father was not listening to the pilots and actually doing his job? Do they issue only one set of headphones to the traffic control towers now?

I have no idea if he was listening or not, and it is irrelevant. If something did happen, and everyone had to go on high alert, the last thing you want is a kid there.

There are certain jobs you just wouldn't take your kid to, and this is one of them.