By Will Sturgeon, 2 August 2006 12:45
NEWS
A number of professional pilots contacted by silicon.com have said the threat posed to flights by mobile phones is minimal and they are confident on-board technology will enable mobile calls to be placed safely.
However, they have joined the growing ranks of detractors from the scheme who fear the effect mobile phones will have on passenger comfort and the harmony in their cabins.
One pilot, from a large UK airline, told silicon.com: "Obviously people have left their phones on during flights and airplanes haven't crashed as a result."
Another pilot told silicon.com: "My guess is that if there are more than 20 passengers on board there's a better than evens chance that at least one phone is active throughout the flight. More than 100 passengers and it's practically a certainty. Since we do not observe any serious problems that have arisen as a result, this would indicate that such problems are very rare, if not impossible."
One did say he had seen instruments doing "weird things" for which the electromagnetic interference from mobiles was one suggested cause. Others suggested interference with sound on radios has also been observed while many said the level of disruption is irritating but not dangerous.
He added: "The main concern with mobile phones on aircraft is that as you leave the ground and get further away from the masts, phones switch to a higher hunting power which is fine for one or two but 300 to 500 all at max power could create a problem."
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He said newer phones with a flight mode, which stop searching when out of range, tend to stop hunting for a signal around 5,000ft, though older phones can continue throughout a flight. But on-board pico cells, which phones will connect to automatically, will ensure mobiles locate that signal and don't keep searching at high power.
However, one pilot issued a word of caution on this technology: "Someday this pico cell will fail, at which point all the active phones will automatically boost their signal to the max in a futile attempt to contact the nearest base station. This will be an excellent test of the aircraft's susceptibility to EM [electromagnetic] interference."
He added: "My guess is that nothing will happen."
Despite confidence in the technology and the fact that mobiles appear to pose little threat to the workings of the plane many pilots contacted by silicon.com did express concerns about the wisdom of the idea.
One said: "Imagine all those ringtones and people shouting down the phone - imagine trying to get some sleep."
Another said: "The last thing I'd want to hear sitting on an aircraft is someone beside me on a phone."
Those thoughts were echoed by another pilot who said the biggest concern may be the risk of increased air rage incidents as already nervous, uncomfortable or in some cases inebriated passengers take exception to a noisy neighbour.
Another added radiation may also be a health concern for passengers: "Think of the worst-case scenario - 550 people on board the Airbus A380 using mobiles at the same time. Forget for the moment the interference to equipment, think about the radiation bouncing around in that tin can."
Comments
There are 21 comments. Join the discussion
1. William Slifko
It will only take one accident killing hundreds to prove that having mobile phones may be harmful. I don't think it is worth the risk.
2. anonymous
why not do what happens in Japan and ban voice calls but allow texting?
3. anonymous
There are lots of places where mobiles are supposed to be switched off. One that amuses me is on petrol station forecourts. Here, I believe, the reason is to reduce the risk of fire. However, I can often see visible sparks of static electricity jumping from my key to the car body when I unlock the fuel cap. Surely this has got to be a much bigger risk.
4. Glen Whelan
Like Trains there should be a special area for those who wish to use mobiles during flight, and to reduce the radiation risk and also electromagnectic interference i suggest just outside the main cabin door!!!
Seriously though although they may not cause flight problems everyone now has one and it would be a nightmare with calls coming in and being made throughout the journey in a very enclosed space.
I say we leave it as it is, no calls during flights, and not take any risks with the flight or the the air rage potentials.
5. Harry Gibson
Has anyone considered the danger of a mobile phone packed with explosive being slipped into someone's bag then being detonated while in mid-air by the conveniently supplied mobile signal?
6. Peter Tombleson
Mobile phones on planes should automatically switch to quite mode (maybe trains too)
7. Steve M
What an awful idea!
Apart from a few business flyers that would find the phone useful I can't believe that members on the public going on their hols can't wait till they get to the other side to make a call.
For the business flyer on a 747 or similar large plane, there could be an area they could go to to make calls or have air phones anyway?
I am just stunned that it is even being considered.
8. Richard A Hrumphhh
Mobile Phone usage on an aircraft is extremely dangerous... especially if you sit next to me.
The first person who shouts HELLO?!! WHAT? YEAH, I'M ON THE PLANE...!!! in my vicinity will also become the first person to receive a surgically implanted mobile tecommunications device up their hands-free socket. God help them if it's a Blackberry.
I encourage all right-thinking people to resort to similar acts of mindless violence until this madness is stamped out.
:-D
9. Christopher Slater-Walker
I really hope this doesn't happen. It seems quite clear to me, as I go to and from work on the train, that many people use their mobiles simply because they can't bear to sit in silence with nobody to talk to; the quality and apparent necessity of the "conversations" which these people engage in would bear this out.
I reckon if this facility is available on planes as well, then people will use, and for no better reason than they do on the train. Only on the plane there are also certain to be some people who will make calls just so they can say that they are on a plane.
10. Jim Price
Is anyone so important to his organisation, or any 'news' sufficiently urgent as to risk even the very slightest chance of an accident killing hundreds of innocent passengers?
I think not!! Let all calls, texts included, wait until the aircraft is safely on the ground.
On a flight from Nice to Luton recently, I was sitting next to a twenty-something bimbo 'playing' with her blackberry. After a while, I mentioned very politely that she really should ahve switched it off. Her response was to ask why, followed by a torrent of abuse that I wouldn't dare repaet here!
I don't care if the cabin crew didn't return it when we safely arrived ....
11. Colin Stamp
Phones already in armrests! Just keep cost high!
12. Suresh
Please Please Please DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN ON ANY FLIGHT. It is bad enough when people are told to switch of their phnoes off during landing and take off.
Anyboby been on any Indain flights.
PUBLIC SAFETY FIRST PLEASE.
13. Dave
Shouldnt it be possible to electrically 'bond' the entire passenger cabin so that no mobile signals get in or out? That way we might there would be no reason to leave the phone on either.
14. Rick Chandler
Ask the CAA and those that certify the equipment! The main dangers are in Near-ground and taxiing and significant numbers of incidents occur through missed Voice communications or interference thith Landing systems. I was told 4-5 incidents a month in the UK can be attributed to Mobile Phone interference by one of the CAA engineers.
15. Jeremy Wickins
Nice article; it is always worth asking the air-crew of their opinions. However, there are a lot of "I don't think that ..." type comments. It seems clear that the pilots polled don't have any real idea about the risks/benefits - but then, I don't think anyone does. One pilot *guesses* that somewhere between 1 and 5% of phones are left switched on during a flight, and another says that weird things happen to the electronics and radio, which *might* be down to mobile phones. Where is the research on this? It seems fairly fundamental to the argument.
Another piece of research that seems to be lacking - do airline customers really want this dubious "service"? It seems not, from the comments here!
16. David Bowler
Could this finally force phone designers to introduce side-tone into mobiles? Side-tone is the automatic feature on landline phones which enables you to hear your own voice. It is omitted from mobiles, presumably to prevent feedback noise; this is why people shout into mobiles (apart from stupidity and bad manners). Side-tone would be enormously helpful for people like me who have to use mobiles in noisy environments such as building sites, far more useful than the games, musical ringtones and other children's toys currently on offer.
17. Rob Penn
I second the motion of inserting device into handsfree socket, but suggest leaving the call connected so that they incur horrendous Roaming fees.
I think Roaming fees alone could persuade people not to use their phones in flight, imagine making a call whilst over france and your heading towards asia, OUCH, how many different roaming zones, which cost different prices, will you cross? (Especially if you with Orange).
18. John Doe
I would quite happily STRANGLE any passenger within earshot of me, who is pissing me off by shouting bollocks (mock business talk) down his mobile phone (about 70 percent of all "business" mobile calls whilst in transit) trying to impress anyone else on the plane about his/her own dilusions of self-importance, if I were trying to get some shut-eye. Sure I'd be arrested by an air marshall, but it would be so satisfying to see his bug-eyed corpse on the floor with his mobile stuck up his arse.
19. Snoozing Passenger
I do NOT want my life put at risk by the potential of anyone to take any passenger-imported gadget on board, be it a kids electronic game or mobile phone. It's up to the AIRLINES to keep all its passengers safe from devices that could be used as remote detonators, therefore the AIRLINES should provide in-flight business services (e.g. broadband) with Instant Messaging...NOT VOICE. There will always be at least one jerk on any flight who will insist on ruining a flight for others with his inane ramblings about his 'business' and how important he is to it. You know what I mean if you've ever sat next to one of these jerks on a commuter train at the end of a tiring day.
20. Allan
There is a time for using technology technology and a time to 'give it a rest'. Using technology just because it is possible (i.e. on planes), is never a good reason to use technology. Whilst in flight is a time to put the 'boyz toys' away and enjoy the flight either for reading, viewing TV, snoozing or chatting quietly with the person near you. If airlines can provide on-board comms equipment for secure email or Instant Messaging (i.e. non-voice communication), then fine. But NO passenger private devices on board PLEASE. What do the airlines' security staff have to say about privately-owned mobiles (or other electronic devices) being brought on board?
21. galley slave#41
I see lots of passengers walking through customs not knowing if they should go through the red or green because they might have to declare the mobile phone stuck where the sun don't shine !!!