Go fly in a private plane and leave your cell phone on. I do not fly IFR so I haven't had to rely in my ILS but it does destroy radio communications. Have you ever heard your GSM based phone pulse and cause noise on a close by speaker? Imagine that being pumped into your radios and into your headphones. It is painful to hear. If I was landing when it went off, it could cause me to react badly at a time when I couldn't afford it. Also, I could miss a call that there is traffic around.
Ask HN: Are mobile phones on a plane taking off or landing really dangerous?
111–120 of 130 posts
Re: Ask HN: Are mobile phones on a plane taking off or landing really dangerous?
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
How hard could it be to get 500 phones, put them in a plane and dial them all ?
If there's 0.000000001% of anything happen, why risk?
I take plenty of risks greater than 1 in 1,000,000,000.
If you're in the US there's a 1 in 15,000,000 chance you'll die at work today.
The chance of penis fracture during intercourse in any year is about 1 in 100,000,000. I can live with that.
Re: Ask HN: Are mobile phones on a plane taking off or landing really dangerous?
#113I'd like to know what drove the relatively recent policy shift around demanding that phones and other devices be "completely off" at takeoff and landing, with airplane mode deemed insufficient. From a visual survey of people turning their phones on later, this prohibition seems to be obeyed mostly by one teenager on JetBlue with an iPod once.
I've noticed exactly the opposite on recent flights between NZ and Australia -- they're now a lot more tolerant about having mobiles in flight mode (and specifically say so in the pre-flight announcement) and they let you turn your phone on as soon as the plane has landed. Previously you had to wait until you were "well inside the terminal".
Re: Ask HN: Are mobile phones on a plane taking off or landing really dangerous?
#114Here's the part that I think about: ok I get that phones could potentially cause a problem. If that is the case, than we shouldnt be relying on voluntary compliance. Either it's not a problem--then let people do that they want, or it's a problem, and you better be telling me that you have a better risk mitigation than "hope that everyone turns off their phones".
Re: Ask HN: Are mobile phones on a plane taking off or landing really dangerous?
#115Earlier quoted context omitted.
There are more than 500 different kinds of phones. That's the problem.
It's only a problem if the plane doesn't fail. However, if it fails with those 500 then that's all you need to know to say "phones can down the plane". If you need more detail you can keep researching.
The plane doesn't fail, it's been done. There are too many variables. The biggest problem is older electronics and GSM.
Re: Ask HN: Are mobile phones on a plane taking off or landing really dangerous?
#116The plural of anecdote is not data, but stories are fun. Last Christmas, I was on a multi-hop flight back to SF from the east coast. We were going to be landing in Vegas, and I was talking to a flight attendant. She mentions that conditions in Vegas were a little crazy, as the runway doesn't drain properly and crosswinds are common. As we're preparing to land, the captain gives the usual speech. It's going to be a li…
Same thing happened to me on a Qantas flight out of Adelaide.
Takeoff was crazy turbulent, and the pilot got on the PA several times pleading for "ALL your devices" to be shut off.
Kinda scary. :)
Re: Ask HN: Are mobile phones on a plane taking off or landing really dangerous?
#117I don't want to encourage terrorism, but if someone wanted to destroy an airplane, they could bring onboard a more dangerous device disguised as a phone or other everyday 'black box' object such as a laptop. The dangerous device might emit serious levels of radiation, it might contain a powerful laser, it might contain explosives. The best defense against 'terrorism' is to be nice to other countries, help them and don't oppress them.
Usury (national debt), bombing, invasion and economic sanctions (aka starvation) are not nice. The countries and groups that commit crimes like those are likely to be attacked. Don't be bad, and no one will want to kill you.
Re: Ask HN: Are mobile phones on a plane taking off or landing really dangerous?
#118I flew for the airlines. The problem is not your everyday takeoff and landing. The problem arises when the weather deteriorates to near zero visibility and the crew is relying on instrumentation to find that strip of pavement, at 130 knots. Instrument approaches rely on a narrowing volume of radio signals, the closer one is to the runway. The tighter the signal, therefore, the greater the deviation should something g…
Isn't the avionics room under the cockpit shielded to sustain operations through lightning storms, signals bouncing off the ionosphere, solar flares, etc.?
I've flown commercially with my phone left on and privately in Cessnas and I haven't experienced anything negative. My dad's a pilot too by the way and he said that there's no supporting evidence, but this is a just small rule so might as well comply.
Re: Ask HN: Are mobile phones on a plane taking off or landing really dangerous?
#119Do the cellphones even work in airplanes? I mean, they are pretty far from antennas, even over civilized area. They also move quite fast, although I do not really know how much Doppler effect affects the phones' transmitters and receivers. The plane is also a Faraday cage, thus it may greatly reduce signal.
From experience I can tall that cell phones seem to work up to an altitude of about 7000ft in slow-flying aircraft (ask a skydiver).
Re: Ask HN: Are mobile phones on a plane taking off or landing really dangerous?
#120Earlier quoted context omitted.
If there's 0.000000001% of anything happen, why risk?
I take plenty of risks greater than 1 in 1,000,000,000. If you're in the US there's a 1 in 15,000,000 chance you'll die at work today. The chance of penis fracture during intercourse in any year is about 1 in 100,000,000. I can live with that.
That's exactly what I'm saying. You choose where you take risks, and I'd risk penis fracture every day, but think can postpone a phone call a few hours for the sake of 200 people at 10.000 feet.