magiciansampras

I hate people that think they're too good for the rules. This is what this phenomenon is about, at its root.

chewy3

Most passengers don't happen to be sitting in the cockpit...

mikem132

I got a Treo phone last January. I flew to HI in April for the first time with that phone. There is a way to just turn off the radio on it, which I did. Upon arriving in HNL, I found my battery dead. Apparently, that thing turns itself on and checks email and stuff. It was in a bag the whole time, and must have been searching for a signal or something the whole flight to kill the battery. Nobody said anything to me and it apparently did not screw up the flight. On the way home I just pulled out the battery.

elitetraveler

What if the person who is blatantly keeping his cellphone on is doing so as a ploy so that you complain to the FA, the FA gets the Captain out of the cockpit enabling accomplices of the cellphone user to force their way into the cockpit? What will you be thinking then? Just joking -

FortyFive

I am also of the MYOB school of thought. Unless the other passenger was somehow infringing upon me personally, I'll always look the other way.

If I remember, I always turn my cell phone off (a couple of times it's been on the whole flight because for whatever reason, I forgot to turn it off), and the only other device I'd use would be my computer, which is always stowed under my seat for takeoff/landing anyhow.

AA53

I don't know...this was in in Dallas Morning News several years ago.

Torgen

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/10/30

925

I firmly believe that the rule is dumber than dumb. And I have NEVER seen verifiable evidence that a cell phone has EVER interfered with flight. And I would mind my own business when seeing others using electronic equipment UNLESS it was causing ME an issue (like a loud toy).

BUT, if the crew gives you an instruction, and you fail to obey, you can EASILY expect to be greeted by police officers on landing. The more overt your defiance, the greater likeliehood you will be detained.

AA53

The crew DOES give instruction on every flight. Why is it so hard for people to follow the rules (whether you agree or not)?

oklAAhoma

Thanks. ^

C17PSGR

The restrictions on cell phone use in flight has nothing to do with flight safety. Its a problem of the cell phone reaching out to too many towers because there are no obstructions (hopefully) between the airplane and numerous cell towers.

See the Congressional testimony from the Chief of the Office of Engineering and Technology at the Federal Communications Commission - "The Commission’s rules specifically prohibit the use of cellular transmitters on aircraft, except for aircraft on the ground. This prohibition was not done to protect the aircraft’s avionics systems from interference from the cellular transmitter. Rather, this prohibition was made to protect the cellular service from interference. As the altitude of a cellular handheld transmitter increases, so do its transmission range and, consequently, its coverage area. At high altitudes, such as would be achieve from an in-flight aircraft, the handheld unit places its signal over several cellular base stations, preventing other cellular users within range of those base stations from using the same frequency. This would increase the number of blocked or dropped cellular calls."

He did defer to the FAA regarding the impact on avionics.

http://www.house.gov/transportation/.../hatfield.html

925

Oh. You mean i have to listen to the entire safety presentation every time I board an AA plane? Becasue they DO tell you to listen!

Or - When was the last time you sat in an exit row seat and actually read the safety card in the pocket - as they tell you to.

Mr. Vker

Takeoff and landing emergency most likely require the most immediate reaction. (Versus having time to deal with a problem at altitude.) I also believe that most air emergencies occur during takeoff and landing.

No reclining and trays up (especially in economy) are to allow for a smoother evacuation -no trays to climb over and seat backs are not blocking the way.

RChavez

I'm surprised you get away with this. While I believe that the fear surrounding electronic devices' ability to interfere with the plane's navigations systems is a bit of hogwash (see here), there are some safety regulations that seem pretty straightforward and obvious to me. Keeping aisles clear, seatbacks forward, and items under the seats do help in a rapid egress god forbid something bad does happen.

If I saw someone with a power cord going from the powerport (which is usually underneath your row) to the seat back (in front of you), I would probably ask (politely) that you unplug it and properly stow your laptop.

Single Malt

I didn't shut off my computer once, and the plane landed without incident; no FAMs there to arrest me as I deplaned either.

There were few people on the flight, had the row to myself; I was watching a movie, my earbud headphones were in, volume turned up. The computer was on the floor (eyeglasses were in my checked bag). I felt a bump and the laptop started sliding forward. I looked up- a little bewildered and saw the runway out the window. Closed the laptop, stuck it in the carry on and got ready to disembark. No one said anything to me.