Does having your cell phone on during your flight really affect the plane?

Question

is it just cause they don't want people talking all the time or does it really mess with the aircraft system

Answer 1

Empirically speaking, several people made cell calls from the 9/11 flights and they didn't end too well.

They were able to communicate, though, and for extended periods.

Answer 2

The cell phone can affect audio communications coming in and out of planes. Hold your cell phone up to a computer speaker while it is in call and you will hear the interference.

While it does not affect the computer systems in any way it can affect analog audio systems e.g. on board telephone

Answer 3

Short answer - it MAY affect SOME systems.

Electromagnetic Compatability / Interference can result in all kinds of unforseen occurences at any stage during the flight. Some may be benign, others can be catastropic.

If used during an apporach to land, mobile phone signals have been known to drag ILS glideslope / localiser bars away from the runway centreline. If visibility is poor, the safety implications are obvious - especially if the Autopilot is coupled into the ILS. The potential is there for the aeroplane to fly itself into the ground without anyone onboard realising.

The most likely effect that mobile phones will have are on the communications systems. A pilot does not want to hear crackling, buzzing, etc; in his headset during a high workload approach - whilst an idiot in the cabin is jabbering away on their phone because they think they know better.

Mobile phone signals can affect aircraft on ground aswell, it has been known for signals to trigger release of wing stores and even set off ejector seats. So if you ever see anyone using a mobile phone anyway near an aeroplane - slap them.

Some airlines are considering allowing the use of mobile phones onboard, however only with known frequency bands that have been fully tested to ensure Electromagnatic Compatability with aircraft systems.

It may seem like scaremongering, and instances like those described above are thankfully very rare but however slim the chances are I'd suggest that you listen to the crew when they tell you to turn off your phone.

Answer 4

not at all. but since you rarely can get a signal on the aircraft while in flight...why bother?

Answer 5

Not really.  It is illegal to allow a cell phone to transmit while\

airborne (FCC rule).  Cell phones will log in to each cell site

as you travel even if you're not talking or texting.  Having one

turned on will violate that law without your knowledge.  When

you roam, watch your phone switch network IDs.  On TMobile

it obvious.

Answer 6

I saw this TV show "Mythbusters" where they tested this.  With one cell phone, the navigation equipment did not budge; however, when they turned the power up to the equivalent of 100 cell phones, it did affect the navigation equipment.   I have turned my cell phone off ever since.

I did mention this to a stewardess once.  She relayed a story about a flight where the navigation equipment was affected when she turned on her cell phone.  The plane was on the ground at the time, not in flight, but the effect was there nonetheless.

Answer 7

No, if your phone is on in the air it will switch on loads of relays from phone masts and it is that that is not wanted.

Answer 8

There was an FAA advisory that came thru our shop a few years back where a passenger using a cell  phone in first class was confirmed to cause some instrument drift in the cockpit.

Answer 9

No.

Answer 10

No.

There are two issues: The first is the fear that it will affect the avionics. This is pure nonsense. The avionics systems are more likely to interfere with each other than your phone is to interfere with them. Consider that fact that communication and navigation frequencies are relatively close to each other, while your cell phone frequency is significantly different. It's important to navigation equipment that signals not interfere with it. So it is built to reject those signals. None of this is rocket science. Radio is something we understand.

Second is the havoc you might wreak on the cell phone system below you. Whereas in your car you might activate one or two towers, from the air there are dozens or hundreds of towers within range of your phone. The system isn't (or I should say, wasn't) prepared to deal with that. However, these days the antennas on cell towers are oriented in such a way so as to block signals coming from above. If you slip your phone out of your bag and turn it on you'll probably get "no service" even though you're right over a major city.

The Mythbusters trick of cranking up the power to 100x isn't the same as 100 phones at 1x power. The point they made is correct: Your cell phone won't interfere with navigation systems. If your phone had 100x its power, it might. However it doesn't have 100x, it has 1x so you're OK.

The flight attendant's story about interference is dumb. People are using their phones in the terminal and even on the ramp near the airplane and we have almost no reports of interference. If this flight attendant knew of an interference problem, it should've been reported to the maintenance department so it could've been fixed.

I use my cell phone from inside my private airplane all the time -- when it's on the ground (it's illegal in the air) and have found no interference.

So the end of the story is that this law is based on nothing but fear and unproven apocryphal stories. The other interesting aspect is to follow the money: Who loses money if you make a cell phone call from an airplane? The airline and the contractor who runs the airphone service. THAT's what's propping up this ignorant law.

Answer 11

I am a commercial pilot and can tell when someone has not turned off their cell phone. It creates an annoying clicking and static noise in the headsets we use to communicate with Air Traffic Control. It can be a distraction.

As for the navigation equipment, there might be a very slim chance of cell phones interfering, but unlikely. Like a lot of things in aviation, its a precaution.

For those of you who saw this on Myth Busters, they were wrong like they normally are with aviation topics.

Answer 12

Every individual cell phone is different, even if it's the exact same model.  They are not built to aircraft specs.  This question also gets asked on here a lot, so if you want more answers, you can look at the other ones.

I have also personally heard interference from cell phones on my headset on the ground.  It depends on the individual phone, as well as what type of plane and what avionics are installed.  Mythbusters did not test all cellphones and all aircraft.  That would be impossible.

Answer 13

If I told the boss to turn off his cell phone in our executive 727 I might as well start updating my resume. He's had a cell phone since there were cell phones and it doesn't do anything to the avionics. The airlines don't want you to use cell phones because they want you to incert your credit card into the seat phone in front of you.