Wirelessly posted (BB8830: BlackBerry8830/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/106)

I figured cheapness was a major factor, but at the same time, where's the pride from whomever Boeing/Airbus get their radios from? It's not like these are Cessna 172's. Filtering IS cheap and comms are essential to handling air traffic.

FWIW, the plane with the stuck mic was a Delta flight, jet. Still gets me that a $30 toy radio has a timeout and the ones in the cockpit don't.

I don't think digital coms/encryption is the answer/solution, but certainly something better than a common channel would be a good start. Even simplex operation's a step in the right direction.

The FAA isn't called the tombstone agency for no reason. Indeed, at some point, somewhere, we'll probably see an aircraft accident that could have been prevented if the radios worked better, if such an accident hasn't already occurred in the past.