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Pax not setting phone to flight mode. Major issue?

Pax not setting phone to flight mode. Major issue?

Old Sep 27, 2018, 4:44 am
  #31  
 
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My thoughts on this is that I want to see evidence that modern phones do not cause any interference. While clearly a mobile phone being used won't instantly down a plane

My understanding is that in the airport industry the target is zero accidents. So, even if there has not yet been an accident yet, if there's the possibility that there could be an accident due to the phones, and airline safety is a very well studied field, then a ban is reasonable.

Even if the only effect of the phones is to distract pilots a bit, well there are safety procedures in place where the whole point is to avoid pilots being distracted at critical times. So, again, I could see that it's plausible that a ban would be sensible even if that's the only result of the ban.

However, people's sense of entitlement concerning using phones is such, that the only resolution I can see is that planes and plane communication systems are going to have to be built around the concept that people will use their phones no matter what.

Note: I am not assuming that a ban is necessary. See my first sentence where I say that I'd like to see firm evidence one way or the other as to whether phones actually cause a problem.
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Old Sep 27, 2018, 11:06 am
  #32  
 
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It's a major issue if the phone user is a Me Monster setting next to you.
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Old Sep 27, 2018, 2:13 pm
  #33  
 
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The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) ruled that mobile phones do not pose a threat to aircraft safety, even when used during takeoff and landing. In 2014. Has there been anything since then to contradict that?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolo...g-flights.html
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Old Sep 27, 2018, 7:12 pm
  #34  
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Originally Posted by nrunning24
As a former engineer at Boeing, there is almost nothing that a cell phone can affect. When you think of all the sources of EMI that are in the air, cell phones are the last of your worries. Airplanes these days are built to handle EMI much more severe (think solar storms etc.). There is one time that I would want to make sure that cell phones are off or in airplane mode, and that's an auto-land in CAT3 conditions (less than 100 ft vertical visibility). I have heard that its possible for phones to affect the Radio Altimeter reading which is what tells the autopilot how far off the ground you are (see the Turkish 737 crash in AMS for more info on why this is important).

Do I turn my phone on airplane mode during flight? Yes, but that's more to save battery having my phone constantly search for service.
Almost nothing isn't nothing.
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Old Sep 27, 2018, 8:02 pm
  #35  
 
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Originally Posted by ou81two
Almost nothing isn't nothing.
Look at it this way - do you really think that we would have the TSA feeling up grandmas and little girls, confiscating nail clippers and knitting needles when a plane could be crashed by a cell phone - which literally *everyone* on the plane is carrying?

If a cell phone could harm a commercial aircraft, you would not be permitted to carry one past security. Full stop.
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Old Sep 27, 2018, 9:08 pm
  #36  
 
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If a passenger can't be trusted to obey a simple instruction like this, what else have they decided doesn't apply to them? Lithium batteries in the hold perhaps?
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Old Sep 27, 2018, 9:22 pm
  #37  
 
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Originally Posted by Annalisa12
It is if whatever they are doing might harm me
Correct, and a cell phone in flight is not something that can harm you.
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Old Sep 27, 2018, 11:13 pm
  #38  
 
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Originally Posted by ft101
If a passenger can't be trusted to obey a simple instruction like this, what else have they decided doesn't apply to them? Lithium batteries in the hold perhaps?
There will be lithium batteries in checked luggage. Probably in any flight. And, that's a real risk, unlike using phones during take-off. I bet that many of the people doing that would be angrily dismissive if anyone called them on it.

Note: I always take all of my lithium batteries in my carry-on.
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Old Sep 28, 2018, 9:48 am
  #39  
 
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Originally Posted by ft101
If a passenger can't be trusted to obey a simple instruction like this, what else have they decided doesn't apply to them? Lithium batteries in the hold perhaps?
Maybe I should post this in the "motto" thread but here goes: "rules are only for those who need them, certainly not me."
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Old Sep 29, 2018, 4:05 pm
  #40  
 
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OMG this is SUCH a MAJOR issue! Every flight I take at least a few people leave their phones on (not in airplane mode) and the flight crashes, killing everyone aboard. So INSENSITIVE!
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Old Sep 29, 2018, 6:37 pm
  #41  
 
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Originally Posted by darthbimmer
OMG this is SUCH a MAJOR issue! Every flight I take at least a few people leave their phones on (not in airplane mode) and the flight crashes, killing everyone aboard. So INSENSITIVE!
I HATE when that happens!
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Old Oct 3, 2018, 12:08 am
  #42  
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To answer the OP, yes this happens all the time and I notice it all the time.

But nobody does anything to alert the crew, and we forget about it.
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Old Oct 3, 2018, 2:08 am
  #43  
 
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Originally Posted by ft101
If a passenger can't be trusted to obey a simple instruction like this, what else have they decided doesn't apply to them? Lithium batteries in the hold perhaps?
If only there were some way that someone could find prohibited items in luggage and remove them... some sort of administration for transportation security or something

Only loose lithium batteries are prohibited, and security takes them out just like they take out gas cylinders for camp stoves, fireworks, huge magnets, etc.

The real punishment for forgetting to put phones in airplane mode is that you arrive with a flat battery. Just barely getting a signal and immediately losing it, over and over, takes a lot of energy.
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Old Oct 11, 2018, 12:15 pm
  #44  
 
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I actually had a conversation with an FA on one flight. I was in 1A on a little Canadair, and her jumpseat faced me, so we talked. Summary:

Cellphones cause absolutely no problem in and of themselves.
FA's text the whole flight anyway.
The requirement is to maximize their chance of you paying attention during the safety briefing and in case SHTF.

That said, I've had more than one co-worker tell me about riding through an "auto-landing" in zero/zero conditions, and the FA's came through to verify that all devices were physically powered off, because THAT situation can be affected by cell devices.
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Old Oct 11, 2018, 12:20 pm
  #45  
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Originally Posted by noodlenoggin
That said, I've had more than one co-worker tell me about riding through an "auto-landing" in zero/zero conditions, and the FA's came through to verify that all devices were physically powered off, because THAT situation can be affected by cell devices.
Wouldn't they have to search through all of the carryon bags too to make sure that hotspots and similar weren't on? I'd imagine it wouldn't be enough just to make sure that devices physically in passengers' possession were off.
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