This is a great topic. Thank you very much. It has really started me to thinking. So, here's what I came up with:
I'm in my house and hear something. By the time I finally get the sleep out of my eyes and realize something's about to happen ... it's too late to call 911 or the phone is in the other room. Well, then, let's say that I have time to call, but would I really want to waste time arguing with the dispatcher, which would take my mind off my own safety and that of my family?
I heard the Joe Horn tapes on local TV. The dispatcher kept trying to talk to him, while his mind needed to be elsewhere. She could have prevented him from making the right decision or confused him enough that he made the wrong decision. IMHO, she made the situation worse than it needed to be by meddling. You don't keep after an older person, because you confuse them enough that they can't think as straight as they would otherwise. You could tell his approximate age by the sound of his voice, so she had to have a clue.
My second thought is to compare this to an inflight engine failure on my airplane. You could have only moments to do what needs to be done, depending on your altitude, of course. You call "Mayday" and squawk emergency on your transponder, if you have the time and the altitude to do so safely. They respond and confirm your location. After that, they pretty much leave you alone to handle your emergency and fly your airplane, that's job one. Distractions can cost needless lives. Knowing that everything you say is being recorded, you say very little, except what is necessary to get the plane down safely. Then, you call the FAA to tell them what happened, after you've had time to go to the bathroom and get some water.
I think there is wisdom in that, where it applies to our situation being discussed here. You want them to know that you are in trouble, so they can send help. However, you don't want anything said that can be used against you. I think, just merely out of my inability to hold onto a gun and a phone at the same time, I would lay the phone down or accidentally drop it and not have time to pick it up again until everything was all over with. I do think I would, given time to do so, call 911, so the ambulance could come, if I or members of my family needed it and to let the cops know that I was the good guy. It's for certain that the BG isn't going to be making a call, so I'd tell 911 what HE looked like, so there'd be no miscommunication.
I'd make certain that the 911 operator knew that everyone else were good guys, because, from Joe Horn's conversation, it doesn't seem like the IQ requirement for the 911 operator job is too stringent. Also, from that conversation, the lady wasn't interested in listening to him. She obviously wanted to control the situation, rather than allowing him to control his environment. Another good reason to state your message and set the phone down, so that you can make the right decision. Pilots are taught that it is we, who are in command of our situation, not the controller. We will be the one, who lives or dies by our actions, and the controller is safely on the ground, without any idea as to what is really going on in the cockpit. The same applies to the 911 operator. She can only guess what is going down, so all her directions may just add to the confusion and danger.
So, can anyone blow holes in that plan? I welcome all ideas, as I'm really new to this sort of thing, and I probably haven't thought of all the scenarios that I could have. What would you do?
Thanks.