Turn off electronic devices below 10k on commercial air travel. Is this really necessary?

[wmw999 2,150]

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at least on United and USAirways, the FAs were adamant that devices had to be OFF and stowed, not just in "airplane" mode or "sleep" mode.

You are also free to find other means of travel that allow you to behave as you wish. It´s their business, and they get to make the rules. I was on a plane yesterday that would not allow phones on at all during the flight, even in airplane mode. OMFG!!! 45 minutes lost out of my life!!!

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[airtwardo 6]

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Here is why they tell you to turn the stuff off, it has very little to do with electronic interference.

That may be true, but at least on United and USAirways, the FAs were adamant that devices had to be OFF and stowed, not just in "airplane" mode or "sleep" mode.

Again... they may become projectiles in the case of an emergency.

If that's their actual intent, then why don't they make people stow their hard-cover books during takeoff? I usually carry a hard-cover book with me when I fly, but I've never been asked to stow it at any stage of the flight.

A crusty dog eared six month old copy of 'Barely Legal' isn't really gonna hurt the guy in front of YOU...

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[SethInMI 146]

Thanks for the details Bill.

For all, what rules for passenger behavior would you like to see? You need to balance safety and passenger liberty/convenience and cost, the same tradeoffs that get made for trains, buses, cars, etc.

Here is my ideal:
1. No sleeping/no headphones below 10k.
2. Pay attention during the briefing. No reading magazines/books/Sudoku or viewing electronics.
4. Phone Radios off in the air, CRT TVs and FM radios off the whole time.
3. Stow large things (laptops, big heavy books/bags) under 10k. This hurts my heart a bit because it is nice to be on a laptop but ok. I would use a weight limit for this. TSA uses the 100ml volume limit, so I would add a weight limit, say 2-3 lbs. FAs have final say.

Other than that, whatever you want to read or play with, go for it.

Downside to my rules, projectiles in a crash. This is a calculated risk based on several odds. 1. Odds of being in a crash where a warning cannot be given 1 minute prior to impact. 2. Odds of a loose cell phone killing someone in said crash.

Anyone else want to have a go?

It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".

[Ron 7]

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That may be true, but at least on United and USAirways, the FAs were adamant that devices had to be OFF and stowed, not just in "airplane" mode or "sleep" mode.

That is why I continued to write and wrote:
1. In the case of an accident those objects become projectiles that could easily kill someone else. Same reason we tell camera folks to strap the camera helmet in.

2. In the case something goes wrong, they do not want you distracted by reading, or surfing, or making a phone call. They want you ready and able to take directions.

3. When everyone has all these devices out, it will make egress from the airplane much more difficult. imagine trying to leave a burning plane while some moron tries to stow his laptop.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[popsjumper 2]

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You really think any of these self-entitled little fucks in the world are going to stop playing angry birds or reading their precious kindles or updating facespace to listen to the safety briefing unless you make them?

You nailed it. You see plenty of evidence of it right here in this thread. You see evidence of it in the skewed way the poll was set up.

"I don't give a fuck what you say or why you say it. I'm gonna do what I want and fuck you AND your rules."

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[popsjumper 2]

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Hey if 'I' have to do what my wife says...so do YOU!

"Yes ma'am" is always a good answer.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[ryoder 1,400]

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A crusty dog eared six month old copy of 'Barely Legal' isn't really gonna hurt the guy in front of YOU...

But if your SO catches you with it, it can really hurt you.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[airtwardo 6]

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Hey if 'I' have to do what my wife says...so do YOU!

"Yes ma'am" is always a good answer.

It's the ONLY answer!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[JerryBaumchen 1,068]

Hi wildcard,

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any of these self-entitled little fucks in the world

Think Alec Baldwin.

JerryBaumchen

[JerryBaumchen 1,068]

Hi Jim,

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...if ya don't like their rules...don't fly.

My first thoughts when I started reading this thread were about when I was a rather young man and in Basic Training; SSgt Don A. Willocks told us, "If you don't like the rules, don't play the game."

I have never forgotten that comment.

JerryBaumchen

PS) The last two movies that I went to I've had to tell at least one dipstick to turn of their cell phone; one took a 2nd 'tell' which had a little more firmness to it. You should have seen the look on her face.

[kawisixer01 0]

I actually almost got into an argument with some douche nozzle on a commercial flight who just refused to put his laptop away. He kept right on pecking away at the keys through three announcements to put your stuff away. Finally I spoke up and said "sir the kind lady just asked everyone three times to please stow thier stuff and that rule applies to you too." He kinda hunched up and tried ignoring me until a few other people looked at me nodded their heads and told him to stop being an asshole. So then he turn and looks at me and says " oh yea like me typing up something is really going to bother anything", to which I informed his dumb ass that the people in front of him might not agree should we hit the ground at a high speed and his laptop goes careening through the airplane bouncing off their heads.
I've traveled enough to see that there are a ton of self centered fucks that think somehow the rules don't apply to them and that they are above them. They zone out into this little lala land and some people almost become complete opposites of how they would normally act. I don't understand it.

[BrokenR1 0]

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Here is why they tell you to turn the stuff off, it has very little to do with electronic interference.

That may be true, but at least on United and USAirways, the FAs were adamant that devices had to be OFF and stowed, not just in "airplane" mode or "sleep" mode.

Again... they may become projectiles in the case of an emergency.

And in a cabin with 3 or 400 people, do you really think they have the time to see who's devise is 'on' and who is just 'holding' it for shits & giggles?

I read that as him saying OFF and stowed and not just in airplane mode and stowed. If it's stowed then it would not be a projectile and he was focusing on why it had to be OFF and not just in airplane or sleep mode.

I haven't noticed the electronics thing too much but what I always see is that as soon as we land people are trying to stand up and grab their bags. Then they stand their for 10-15 or whatever minutes. The only time I've wanted to grab my bag is when I have stuff I need to repack in it prior to deboarding but I still wait until it's ok to do so.

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Rap is to music what etch-a-sketch is to art.

[SethInMI 146]

Yeah, that's right. My original post wasn't clear enough. I was drawing attention to the fact of the OFF command, not the stowed command, but I did not do that as well as I should have.

Anyway, I think it's a narrow point, but good to clear up.

It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".

[gonzalesna 0]

You know that weird sound your cell phone makes with your stereo or tv on occasion if it's too close? That's about all you'll get. However, if that interference takes place while the majority of the pilot's transmissions and receptions are taking place, (taxi, takeoff, climb, descent and landing) then the pilot may miss a necessary transmission.

That said, while you're sitting there with your thumb up your ass for 45 minutes waiting for a plane to be de-iced, there's no harm in makin' a quick phone call. You're not going anywhere anytime soon anyways.

If it makes you feel any better, air traffic controllers are prohibited from bringing phones into the air traffic control tower due to the same interference issue. This is mandated by the FAA.

Some people refrain from beating a dead horse. Personally, I find a myriad of entertainment value when beating it until it becomes a horse-smoothie.

[gonzalesna 0]

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Hey if 'I' have to do what my wife says...so do YOU!

"Yes ma'am" is always a good answer.

It's the ONLY answer!

I thought it was "Yes, Mistress."

Some people refrain from beating a dead horse. Personally, I find a myriad of entertainment value when beating it until it becomes a horse-smoothie.

[jumpwally 0]

Just as a curiousity,,i can't remember when all these rules took place,,,before 9/11 or after ?

smile, be nice, enjoy life
FB # - 1083

[kd5xb 1]

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I've USED my cell phone in flight in a 172, I didn't die.

I used a 2-meter handie talkie from a 172 many times and things were just fine. Of course, I was PIC.

I tried it once from a C-141 cruising of the middle of the United States, and while the airplane didn't do anything weird, I couldn't USE the HT -- I was hearing WAY to many stations all at once!

I'm a jumper. Even though I don't always have money for jumps, and may not ever own a rig again, I'll always be a jumper.

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[riddler 0]

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That's a safety thing. If you run into another airplane while taxiing, all that stuff becomes projectiles - and cellphones are light, laptops are heavy. Readers generally get lumped into laptops.

By this logic, we should also ban people from holding water bottles, hardcover books, heavy kids-toys, and any number of dense objects I have seen people holding in their laps on the taxiway/runway and during takeoff/landing.

I'm not against the idea, but the presumption of electronic things being bad solely because they are electronic is misplaced logic. I have a 7" reader that weighs about the same as my 4" cell phone.

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[billvon 2,435]

>By this logic, we should also ban people from holding water bottles,
>hardcover books, heavy kids-toys, and any number of dense objects I
>have seen people holding in their laps on the taxiway/runway and during
>takeoff/landing.

Definitely, and all the safety briefings I have heard have included the warning "stow all carry-on items" before takeoff. But I agree that not everyone does that. Heck, I have a friend who often sends me texts right after takeoff. Personally I put away everything heavier than a magazine, but that's just me.