Sky marshal (also known as air marshal or flight marshal) is a popular term for an undercover armed guard on board a commercial aircraft, to counter aircraft hijackings ('skyjackings'). Many carriers are known to have sky marshals on board on selected flights, for example, Swiss (since 1970; formerly Swissair), El Al, Sri Lankan Airlines, and United Airlines. Sky marshals became an issue in late 2003 when United States ordered foreign airlines to have armed guards on flights to and from the country as a precaution against terrorist attacks. Many of the involved countries and carriers have expressed great reservation towards the idea since they fear that having weapons on board only increases the risk of terrorist actions. Sky marshals may be provided by the various airlines or by government agencies such as the US Federal Air Marshal Service. An aircraft is any machine capable of atmospheric flight. ... Aircraft hijacking (also known as Skyjacking) is the take-over of an aircraft, by a person or group, usually armed. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Categories: Airline stubs | Companies of Israel | Transportation in Israel | Airlines of Israel ... Categories: Airline stubs | Airlines of Asia ... United Airlines (IATA: UA, ICAO: UAL, and Callsign: United), the major subsidiary of UAL Corporation (OTCBB: UALAQ), is a major airline of the United States. ... 2003 (MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Federal Air Marshal Service is a U.S. federal agency. ...

Ocean-going cruise ships have similar officers, known as Sea Marshals.

Sky marshals in action

• 23 November 1985 - EgyptAir Flight 648
• 7 December 2005 - American Airlines Flight 924

November 23 is the 327th day of the year (328th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 38 days remaining. ... This article is about the year. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... December 7 is the 341st day (342nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Passengers of Flight 924 exiting the plane on December 7, 2005 while it is on the ground at Miami International Airport. ...

Fictional references

The term "sky marshal" has seen reference in some works of science fiction, albeit in a very different context. In Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers, the Sky Marshal is the uniformed commander-in-chief of the Terran Federation military who has risen to the highest rank in both the naval and infantry branches of the military. The Terran Federation of the Starfire universe has a Sky Marshal in the exact same position. Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Heinlein autographing at the 1976 Worldcon Robert Anson Heinlein (July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was one of the most influential and controversial authors in science fiction. ... Juan Rico flies his powered suit into battle with the Skinnies. ... The Terran Federation is a fictional government from Robert Heinleins science fiction novel Starship Troopers. ... For other uses, see Terran Federation (disambiguation). ...

See also

• Aircraft hijacking
• Federal Air Marshal

Aircraft hijacking (also known as Skyjacking) is the take-over of an aircraft, by a person or group, usually armed. ... The Federal Air Marshal Service is a U.S. federal agency. ...

References

• Armed guards "normal" on Swiss planes, swissinfo, January 10, 2004; online