WASHINGTON - Airline pilots should be able to carry guns to defend against hijackers who try to storm the cockpit, the House decided Wednesday.

        The House voted 310-113 to require the Transportation Security Administration to deputize and train pilots who volunteer to carry guns on flights. Flight crews also would be eligible for classroom and hands-on training in self-defense.

        President Bush and his transportation security advisers have opposed arming pilots. Sen. Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee that has jurisdiction over the issue, is also against it.

        After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Congress passed an aviation security bill that allowed pilots to carry guns pending federal approval. The Bush administration has considered suggestions from United Airlines and others to approve nonlethal weapons, such as stun guns, but believes that arming pilots is too risky.

        Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, sponsor of the House bill, said the Sept. 11 hijackings would not have happened had the pilots on those planes been armed. He also said Bush administration security advisers who oppose arming pilots “don't know squat.”

        Tristate lawmakers all voted for the bill.

        Earlier this year, a poll by the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents 66,000 pilots, found that 73 percent backed arming pilots.

        Marc Feigenblatt, vice chairman of the Airline Pilots' Security Alliance, said many pilots have military backgrounds and are familiar with firearms.

        “This is not a gun issue. This is a security issue,” said Mr. Feigenblatt of Anderson Township., who helped form the coalition of pilots after the Sept. 11 attacks.

        A Senate version sponsored by Sen, Robert Smith, R-N.H., would require the TSA to allow pilots to voluntarily carry guns and add video cameras so pilots could see what's happening in the cabin.

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