Why do you have to turn off your electronics on planes?
I recently had a flight from Dallas to Atlanta to Washington D.C, and each time at takeoff/landing they told us to turn all elctronics off. Why? I left my iPod on and the plane did not spontaneously combust. Is it a safety thing or what?
Air Travel - 4 Answers
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1 :
They are said to interfere with the pilots' communication with the air traffic control tower. This, however, is not true anymore. It is an old rule. I have a few friends that fly for airlines and say they often leave their phones on the entire flight.
2 :
I`ve heard that they`re said to interfere arbitrarily with the aircraft`s navigational instruments, so that operating electronics on bord an airliner is prohibited by IATA`s regulations.
3 :
Yes it is a safety thing. I can think of a few reasons that you would be asked to turn off electronics... For one, in fact some electronics (cell phones) do interfere slightly with electronics of the aircraft. I tested it myself, my cell phone caused a little buzzing sound in the headset. Not enough to prompt any kind of problem, but it was a bit annoying. As the first person indicated, it was much more prominent in the old days. However, there's more to it. Remember the Miracle on the Hudson? Seconds before hitting the water the captain came on and said something to the effect of "brace for impact". Now what would happen if if you were listening to your iPod and missed the announcement entirely? What if you couldn't hear the order to evacuate the plane? Other electronic devices like laptops could simply end up as projectiles if the plane landed really hard or had a runway overrun, causing injuries that could easily be avoided. Consider also that if the plane were on fire in the air, the airstream would help minimize the spread of the fire, and there's nothing the passengers could do anyway. The flight crew would be doing everything they could to handle the fire. But on the ground, the crew could easily announce a passenger evacuation. From your seat, you wouldn't know that an engine was on fire, or that the wheels were on fire. Thus, you'd have no idea that you were in danger until you heard "evacuate, evacuate, evacuate". If listening to music, you'd see everyone stand up and running for the exits, and then you'd be like 'whoa, what's going on!?' and those few extra seconds of confusion could be the difference between getting off safely, or burning to death. You're right, the plane does not explode or anything. It's entirely for your safety, and to cover the airline's butt in the event of suing.
4 :
The plane did not spontaneously combust, proving what? Yes, it's a safety thing. The probability of any bad effect may be small (it is small) but why add any increased risk?
