Plane ballistics tests turn up heat on gun-toting bodyguards

It was one of the most spectacular accidents in aviation history - a Boeing 737-200 flying at an altitude of more than 23,000 feet peeled open like a tin of sardines, sucking a flight attendant out to her death, after a section of the roof ruptured.

The drama of Aloha Airlines Flight 243, which managed to land without further fatalities, despite having its roof torn off from behind the cockpit to the wings, still holds important lessons 19 years on.

According to experts studying the effects of firearms on board planes, what happened during the Honolulu-bound flight accurately reflects what might happen to an aircraft fuselage if a bullet from an unrestricted, powerful handgun was fired inside the passenger cabin.

And while Hong Kong aviation officials refuse to discuss their reasons, it's a scenario they may have considered before a subtle but significant change in their decision to allow armed VIP bodyguards on board Dragonair planes leased to Air China on routes within the mainland.

When Dragonair pilots protested six weeks ago at being instructed to allow armed bodyguards on so-called wet-leased flights, the Civil Aviation Department (CAD) stood firmly by its decision to make an exemption to normal rules banning all weapons from Hong Kong-registered planes.

The exemption, granted last year, was necessary so that Dragonair could 'meet the requirements of the mainland's authorities', the CAD said in a terse statement, refusing to talk to pilots or their representatives about fears that guns were a threat to aircraft safety.