Who enforces no mobile phone use on plane

[maroonone]

On a flight today, door well and truly shut and not at gate and passenger in front makes phone call. This is not an exception and I would love to have them pursued under air safety regs or whatever and get a nice fine so they undertsand they may not be as important as they thought.
I also wonder if the airline called every pax mobile number after gate departure how many phones onboard would ring - I suspect heaps as compliance in the old days of no electronics until cruise was poor and now we are relying on all the very important people onboard to all switch their phone to flight mode when requested. I suspect compliance level is on a par with driving and mobile phone use. My concern is ifthere is a genuine risk to aircraft safety that all these important people don'y care if I end up going down with them.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

The question is whether there is a genuine risk to aircraft safety. The answer: probably not. Otherwise phones would be banned outright and the airlines would have to ensure each and every one was switched off.

Safety risk to passengers? Probably not much either.

The passenger has however failed to follow a crew member instruction. Although it's not common for something like this to be prosecuted.

 

[Sprucegoose]

Prosecution usually is a combination of misdemeanors and I would agree quite rare. I was involved with the Feds on a case recently and there was also a high level of suspicion involved on the part of the crew as well as blatant breaches of behaviour.

 

[opusman]

I think the airlines just take a better-safe-than-sorry approach, but there's no evidence (afaik) showing any danger at all from mobiles.

Remember it wasn't long ago that all radio transmitters were banned, now we have Q Streaming and going forward wi-fi Internet access, and EK already let you use your mobile phone (albeit at enormous expense). In reality there's no threat from it, so yes the other pax was doing "the wrong thing" but it's like reporting someone to the police for jaywalking. Might make you feel important but doesn't really help society in any way

 

[MEL_Traveller]

On a flight today, door well and truly shut and not at gate and passenger in front makes phone call.

The other thing is that most airlines now permit mobile phone use as soon as you turn off the runway on landing. So being on the ground, away from the gate, is not considered a danger in itself.

 

[Spongbob]

I was on a Qantas domestic flight last year, and while the aircraft was moving on the taxiway for departure a pax was on their phone. A crew member told the pax to either turn the phone off or they would be removed from the flight.

 

[RooFlyer]

The question is whether there is a genuine risk to aircraft safety. The answer: probably not. Otherwise phones would be banned outright and the airlines would have to ensure each and every one was switched off. <snip>

I disagree. The question for me is whether or not using a phone in transmit mode is a violation of airline safety 'law' (I'm not sure where it lies, so will use that general term). If it is (and we know it is), its not for airlines or individual FAs to decide whether or not its worth enforcing - they should, every time. If not, one is entitled to wonder what other airline safety 'laws' they are not bothering to enforce/follow.

I agree there is minimal risk. However I recall the question asked in the 'Ask the Pilot' thread. I think it was JB747 who replied to the effect that, at the margin, if things went really pear shaped on take-off (in particular), then he would far prefer all phones to be off (but apologies if I got either of those bits wrong).

My view is - its not for me, or the FAs or anyone on the aircraft to decide if they follow airline safety 'law' or the crew's instructions. Just do it. If FAs were more assertive in enforcing the 'phone transmission off' thing, maybe pax would be more likely to obey other instructions, such as leaving cabin baggage behind during an emergency evacuation.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

The OP was concerned about the plane crashing and burning. Clearly that's not an issue. Airlines allow the use of mobiles during taxi.

Maybe during the take-off and approach it could be a potential issue, but given the number of phone left on by mistake it's not an issue the airlines (or safety regulators) are dying in a ditch over.

A passenger breaching a written law. That's another issue. But the OP was focused on the safety of the aircraft.

 

[Melburnian1]

....I agree there is minimal risk. ...My view is - its not for me, or the FAs or anyone on the aircraft to decide if they follow airline safety 'law' or the crew's instructions. Just do it.

I do not and never will use a mobile phone in the above circumstances because I am not one of the 'all important' people who travel by air.

That said, RooFlyer begs the question: if the risk is minimal, do we really need this regulation? Is this another case of regulators being too conservative and believing that even if there is a tiny risk, we "need" a law or regulation to solve the perceived "problem?"

 

[milehighclub]

I regularly see phones not in flight mode during the final cabin check after the demo. I always enforce it (because that's my job) and I also know about two seconds later, most people switch flight mode back off when I am out of sight.

 

[Happy Trails]

I enforced it once on a BA flight when the guy behind me was drowning out the safety briefing.

 

[Daver6]

Two points.

Firstly, I believe the safety risk is this. It would require two unlikely events to occur at once. Firstly, a fault phone transmits at much higher power than normal AND an issues where the aircraft systems are susceptible to being effected by the higher radiation output. If this did occur during cirtical phases of the flight, eg take-off and landing, it could have adverse outcomes. Hence no problem using a phone while taxiing after landing. This is my understanding of why your phone should be in flight mode during take-off and landing.

Secondly, I've seen this blatantly flouted by a QF CSM on a QF flight where he was a pax. So they truly don't care about it.

 

[ICUDr]

We fly (rescue) helicopters and comunicate to the ground using the aircraft's iPhone, which is connected to the Telstra network. When there is no reception then we use a satellite phone but this is happening less often these days..... Before I get trolled I know they are only helicopters and no an Airbus 380 for example

I spoke with a co-worker who travels on his own small plane between BNE and Newcastle and he has his iPhone on all the time.

I do understand and respect that there may be a risk associated with having your phone on from take off through to landing, therefore I keep mine switch off. I'd like to read a well done and solid research article with full evidence that this is the right thing to do tho...

 

[esseeeayeenn]

Two points.

Firstly, I believe the safety risk is this. It would require two unlikely events to occur at once. Firstly, a fault phone transmits at much higher power than normal AND an issues where the aircraft systems are susceptible to being effected by the higher radiation output. If this did occur during cirtical phases of the flight, eg take-off and landing, it could have adverse outcomes. Hence no problem using a phone while taxiing after landing. This is my understanding of why your phone should be in flight mode during take-off and landing.

Secondly, I've seen this blatantly flouted by a QF CSM on a QF flight where he was a pax. So they truly don't care about it.

The mechanism for the risk is that an intense radio transmission could induce a current in the wiring in the aircraft's systems.
Worst case scenario it would corrupt either the data being seen by the pilots or (much less likely) the commands being relayed back to the aircraft.
Even if such an incident occurred it would then take a further combination of factors for it to result in an actual problem - as Daver6 points out.

My understanding is that this is largely a historical risk from when cables were poorly shielded because no one anticipated passangers routinely carrying radio transmitters onboard.
Modern aircraft have wiring systems which are better shielded against this risk. But caution abounds and change is slow - and those are good things in the context of safety!

I don't make phone calls after the door is closed. I do generally switch my phone to flight mode.
However I did find it annoying when a flight attendant on an MH flight objected to me using my phone (in flight mode) to take a photo out the aircraft window.
Hopefully if the rules are uniformly updated to be consistent and realistic - flight mode once the doors are closed but okay to use in flight mode gate-to-gate - then compliance will be simpler.
In the meantime I continue to annoy my best friend by taking my DSLR on board for those photo opportunities.

 

[Strategic Aviation]

However I did find it annoying when a flight attendant on an MH flight objected to me using my phone (in flight mode) to take a photo out the aircraft window.

In the meantime I continue to annoy my best friend by taking my DSLR on board for those photo opportunities.

FAs occasionally object to use of cameras pre-takeoff (or pre-landing), even compact cameras well under the nominal 1kg small device limit.

It is basically a free-for-all once the cabin crew are strapped in since they can't see the majority of passengers. Lots of photos, text messages, tweets, etc.

 

[esseeeayeenn]

FAs occasionally object to use of cameras pre-takeoff (or pre-landing), even compact cameras well under the nominal 1kg small device limit.

It is basically a free-for-all once the cabin crew are strapped in since they can't see the majority of passengers. Lots of photos, text messages, tweets, etc.

Depends where you're sitting!

 

[Solid]

Another general safety consideration is whether people will hear crew commands if they are on their phone.

 

[VPS]

Talking to a crew member recently she said it is mainly for safety so,people are concentrating on the staff at take off or landing and not checking Facebook- I have had numerous instances where it has been flouted and would love some guidelines from the airlines on how to handle it

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Talking to a crew member recently she said it is mainly for safety so,people are concentrating on the staff at take off or landing and not checking Facebook- I have had numerous instances where it has been flouted and would love some guidelines from the airlines on how to handle it

And here is the inconsistency... some airlines allow gate-to-gate IFE. An immediate command from the crew (such as 'brace') not using the address system will not interrupt IFE.

 

[Strategic Aviation]

Depends where you're sitting!

That's why I said the majority. Though it's really the vast majority, in terms of being able to clearly see what a passenger may be holding in their hands.

It's very rare for me to be sitting opposite a jump seat. Can't remember the last time!