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Study Says Cell Phones Can Interfere With Planes
3x37 writes "The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette website reports a study by Cargenie Mellon University researchers found that cell phones do interfere with airplane cockpit instruments. The researchers came to this takeaway conclusion: "devices like cell phones 'will, in all likelihood, someday cause an accident by interfering with critical cockpit instruments such as GPS receivers.'""
All I need when I'm trying to sleep on my flight is some yahoo yelling on his/her cell phone. I think people can spend just a few hours away from thier cell.
"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it." Mark Twain.
Unortunately, the same self-important gadget love that has people driving one-handed while juggling a phone with the other ensures that nobody will ever pay much attention to the cell phone ban until an actual plane crash happens, and is conclusively proven to have been caused by someone's phone.
Sad, really.
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As a pilot I can help answer this. When you are flying you are constant cross checking one thing against another. You almost always have two indications of every action a plane is taking. My VSI indicates I am climbing - is my altitude actually rising. My heading indicator is changing, does my turn & bank indicator and my magnetic compass indicate the same ? Any pilot who is not always cross checking things is not a safe pilot. If a cell phone interferes with my GPS and it indicates I am heading 300 degrees at 4000 MSL (Mean Sea Level) I have other instruments that I can instantly use to double check that. Even though I am fairly recently rated pilot (3 years) I know the value of good ole analog instruments and checking where I am on a map. I hear of plenty of pilots who hop in the plane nowadays and just punch in their destination and the GPS tells them where to go. Do not fly with these people. If your pilot is not always busy double checking things then you need to get a better pilot.
"Action is the thing that escapes most people. Great ideas are a dime a dozen. Great actions are few and far in between.
Yep, I had to use the phone once on a flight. I found the phone conveniently located in the seatback in front of me to suffice. I used at my convenience and was careful not to disturb my fellow travelers. I took great care that I was not responsible for worsening an already uncomfortable situation.
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No.
Glass cockpit displays are wonderful and all that, but no pilot I know will use them exclusively. At the very least, there will be two of these displays in the cockpit and they will be powered by two completely independent electrical systems. It also normal to have a basic altimeter, airspeed indicator, and artificial horizon with some other indpendent power source (such as a vacuum line).
Nearly fifty percent of all graduates come from the bottom half of the class!
I seriously doubt that, as someone who has routinely flown all over the country with all sorts of weird electrical equipment, it always surprises me that they don't bat an eye. Additionally, if you pay attention, *a lot* of people have their cellphones turned on during the flight. The risk overall simply has to be overrated because airplanes aren't falling out of the sky all the time as result of people leaving their cellphones on.