Cell Phones on Planes

On last night’s (12 hour, gulp) flight I am next to a techie who has been upcountry rewiring choppers for the military.

He is in avionics and I ask him his opinion on whether cell phones are a serious danger to aircraft navigation systems.

“Jury’s still out,” he says.

“But if it were a really serious danger to aircraft safety, there’s always a few phones in bags that are not switched off. I’ve never seen flight attendants coming through checking bags for those.”

“It’s a question of numbers. If everyone started phoning up on take-off and landing it could confuse the navigation systems.”

“Hmmm. I saw somewhere the FCC and the FAA are looking into ways of letting people phone while flying.”

“Eventually they probably will find a way of letting people do that but there are other factors besides air safety. For example, astronomers don’t take to the idea of the skies being full of talk, like phoning to say you are on the plane could be interpreted by a radio telescope that a star had died, you know.”

“Yeah, and then there’s cabin society and the rage factor. I mean, who wants to listen to a hundred people on a flight yakking on their cell phones? That could lead to cases of irate passengers brandishing plastic knives at people having inane cell phone conversations.”

“But coming back to the actual danger, this probably is a bit overrated, wouldn’t you say? I mean you don’t see squadrons of aircraft crashing into each other and falling out of the skies all because of somebody phoning home.”

“Well there’s been one case I know of.”

“You mean, that pilot who was talking on his cell phone as he was landing? That wasn’t interference with navigation, it was because the human being got distracted.”

“Yeah, and then he destructed himself and the plane.”