Originally Posted by
whirledtraveler
Reading the accounts on this thread, I have to say that it sounds like airplanes use some pretty cruddy electronics if they are that fragile in the presence of computers and cell phones. People blame the passengers, and given the current state of aircraft they should. But, they should blame the airlines for having krap electronics.
The problem is (apologies for needing to get technical) that there is no independent electrical ground in an aeroplane in the air. The body of the plane acts as the ground for the electronics, but the phones are inside that ground and so have the potential to modulate it. Rejecting ground interference is a complicated task and one that wasn't necessarily considered back when some of the aeroplanes were designed. You are correct that it is inexcusable for recently designed avionics.