11 ms·

long overdue, everytime i fly i probably see 50% of the people NOT turning off their phones. even more painful is seeing the flight attendant try to actually e

long overdue, everytime i fly i probably see 50% of the people NOT turning off their phones. even more painful is seeing the flight attendant try to actually explain why people need to shut off their devices

jlgreco 13y ago
Yeah, I understand the logic behind "The FCC/FAA cannot test every single device for airplane use" but as far as I can tell so many people ignore this rule that if it really were a problem, airplanes would be dropping out of the sky like bricks every day. Many, if not most, people ignore the rule, so it probably isn't a big deal in reality.
- ihsw 13y ago
  The issue is when shit hits the fan then will you be able to depend on communications with air traffic control? Other people will be reaching for their phones at the same time, surely radio congestion is a real concern. Or it used to be.
  - jadeddrag 13y ago
    If this really were a problem, don't you think the bad guys would have already exploited this to cause terror?
    - jlgreco 13y ago
      Yeah, that's the other thing. If cellphones were so dangerous, imagine the havoc you could reap with a black trashbag full of old cellphones duct-taped into an old 10' satellite television parabolic dish.
      - deleted 13y ago
        [deleted]
  - jlgreco 13y ago
    I strongly suspect that cellphone networks falling over because too many people are trying to call their families are not going to stop a pilot from talking with air traffic control. Maybe I'm wrong there, but I really don't think I am. Regardless, that is what 'airplane mode' is for. Having the device on but not the radio isn't really about that.
    - ihsw 13y ago
      Maybe the airlines/the FAA found out how to turn airplane mode on remotely.
      - jlgreco 13y ago
        I doubt they would dare. That would impact first responders as well.
  - cheald 13y ago
    When the shit hits the fan, I wouldn't expect people to be playing by the rules and leaving their phones off.
  - fnordfnordfnord 13y ago
    >The issue is when shit hits the fan then will you be able to depend on communications with air traffic control? Yes, when the SHTF aircraft comms will work as designed, not even close to the same frequency bands, nor modulation techniques, nor power output levels. Not even a slight chance that cell phones will interfere. In my minimal experience with airplane crashes[1], the aircraft's electrical system was kaput, and I relayed communications to/from ATC and Fire Dept. via ... wait for it, the pilot's personal cell phone. [1] I ran an FBO at a tiny municipal airport during college (I re-fueled aircraft). I only participated in a few airplane crashes during my tenure there.
    - snom380 13y ago
      If you want to compare a commercial aircraft with 2-3 independent radios and electrical systems to a light aircraft, I can as well, and I'm happy to tell you that it's trivial to get a cell phone or tablet to cause annoying interference in the headset. I have to turn some of them off during flights, but always keep at least one of them on and away from the instrument panel, in case of an emergency or radio failure (which has actually happened to me once).
      - fnordfnordfnord 13y ago
        > I'm happy to tell you that it's trivial to get a cell phone or tablet to cause annoying interference in the headset. I'm happy to tell you that your concerns are trivial. GSM chirping noises in your headset are merely annoying. There are all sorts of other electrical noise sources in light piston powered aircraft, and if they were ever a suspected cause of crashes, wouldn't be allowed to persist, specifically, alternator noise, strobe light generated noise, magneto noise from unshielded p-leads or plug wires, etc. Use shielded signal cable and noise filters on your intercoms if you don't want to hear it anymore (of course, it wouldn't actually go away). >always keep at least one of them on and away from the instrument panel Do you have some reason other than superstition to believe that a cell phone can affect the operation of even your light aircraft instruments? Have you observed your instruments malfunctioning while a cell phone is operating in close proximity, and if so, why would you fly with such obviously unsafe conditions?
aroch 13y ago
The restrictions do have two benefits though as far as I'm aware: 1) your phone's battery doesn't drain as it's out of range and attempts to poll a tower every few sounds to no avail; and 2) if it does have service, it prevents the fairly large overhead associated with transferring between towers, decreasing network strain.
- jadeddrag 13y ago
  I'm probably not the only one who does not mind putting the phone in "airplane mode" (which I do anyway), but it is the stupid "must be powered all the way off" that bugs the hell out of me. I just want to listen to my music!

jlgreco 13y ago

Yeah, I understand the logic behind "The FCC/FAA cannot test every single device for airplane use" but as far as I can tell so many people ignore this rule that if it really were a problem, airplanes would be dropping out of the sky like bricks every day. Many, if not most, people ignore the rule, so it probably isn't a big deal in reality.

ihsw 13y ago
The issue is when shit hits the fan then will you be able to depend on communications with air traffic control? Other people will be reaching for their phones at the same time, surely radio congestion is a real concern. Or it used to be.
- jadeddrag 13y ago
  If this really were a problem, don't you think the bad guys would have already exploited this to cause terror?
  - jlgreco 13y ago
    Yeah, that's the other thing. If cellphones were so dangerous, imagine the havoc you could reap with a black trashbag full of old cellphones duct-taped into an old 10' satellite television parabolic dish.
    - deleted 13y ago
      [deleted]
- jlgreco 13y ago
  I strongly suspect that cellphone networks falling over because too many people are trying to call their families are not going to stop a pilot from talking with air traffic control. Maybe I'm wrong there, but I really don't think I am. Regardless, that is what 'airplane mode' is for. Having the device on but not the radio isn't really about that.
  - ihsw 13y ago
    Maybe the airlines/the FAA found out how to turn airplane mode on remotely.
    - jlgreco 13y ago
      I doubt they would dare. That would impact first responders as well.
- cheald 13y ago
  When the shit hits the fan, I wouldn't expect people to be playing by the rules and leaving their phones off.
- fnordfnordfnord 13y ago
  >The issue is when shit hits the fan then will you be able to depend on communications with air traffic control? Yes, when the SHTF aircraft comms will work as designed, not even close to the same frequency bands, nor modulation techniques, nor power output levels. Not even a slight chance that cell phones will interfere. In my minimal experience with airplane crashes[1], the aircraft's electrical system was kaput, and I relayed communications to/from ATC and Fire Dept. via ... wait for it, the pilot's personal cell phone. [1] I ran an FBO at a tiny municipal airport during college (I re-fueled aircraft). I only participated in a few airplane crashes during my tenure there.
  - snom380 13y ago
    If you want to compare a commercial aircraft with 2-3 independent radios and electrical systems to a light aircraft, I can as well, and I'm happy to tell you that it's trivial to get a cell phone or tablet to cause annoying interference in the headset. I have to turn some of them off during flights, but always keep at least one of them on and away from the instrument panel, in case of an emergency or radio failure (which has actually happened to me once).
    - fnordfnordfnord 13y ago
      > I'm happy to tell you that it's trivial to get a cell phone or tablet to cause annoying interference in the headset. I'm happy to tell you that your concerns are trivial. GSM chirping noises in your headset are merely annoying. There are all sorts of other electrical noise sources in light piston powered aircraft, and if they were ever a suspected cause of crashes, wouldn't be allowed to persist, specifically, alternator noise, strobe light generated noise, magneto noise from unshielded p-leads or plug wires, etc. Use shielded signal cable and noise filters on your intercoms if you don't want to hear it anymore (of course, it wouldn't actually go away). >always keep at least one of them on and away from the instrument panel Do you have some reason other than superstition to believe that a cell phone can affect the operation of even your light aircraft instruments? Have you observed your instruments malfunctioning while a cell phone is operating in close proximity, and if so, why would you fly with such obviously unsafe conditions?

aroch 13y ago

The restrictions do have two benefits though as far as I'm aware: 1) your phone's battery doesn't drain as it's out of range and attempts to poll a tower every few sounds to no avail; and 2) if it does have service, it prevents the fairly large overhead associated with transferring between towers, decreasing network strain.

jadeddrag 13y ago
I'm probably not the only one who does not mind putting the phone in "airplane mode" (which I do anyway), but it is the stupid "must be powered all the way off" that bugs the hell out of me. I just want to listen to my music!