'It's not a conspiracy': Pilot explains why your phone has to be in flight mode
Friday, 13 December 2024
A US pilot has taken to social media to explain why phones have to be switched to flight mode, and he seems to have a struck a chord with fliers.
Known as Perchpoint on TikTok, the short clip has had more than 1 million views and hundreds of comments.
The pilot starts off by saying that switching to flight mode is “not a conspiracy”, adding that turning it on “is not the end of the world”.
“No the plane won't fall out of the sky, and it won't even mess with the systems on board, however, it does have the potential to mess with the headsets,' he said.
'If you have an aircraft with 79, 80, 150 people on board, and even three or four people's phones start to try and make a connection to a radio tower for an incoming phone call, it sends out radio waves.
'There's a potential that those radio waves can interfere with the radio waves of the headset that the pilots are using.'
He then outlined a situation in San Francisco when he was heading towards the runway when he started hearing a “buzz” in his headset, comparing it to a mosquito.
“It’s definitely not the end of the world but it’s pretty annoying when you’re trying to copy down instructions and it sounds like there’s a wasp or something flying around.“
Former airline pilot and historian Dan Bubb told Newsweek: 'The pilot is correct. It could interfere with the headset, but will not cause the plane to crash.
'The reason why we ask passengers to put their phones on airplane mode is because they have the potential to interfere with the radio altimeter.'
Certainly phones and aircraft have come a long way over the years, but airlines and aviation authorities are still using an ultra-cautious approach.
Professor Doug Drury, the head of aviation at Central Queensland University, wrote in an article in 2022 for The Conversation: “The digital technology currently in use is much more advanced than some of the older analogue technologies we used even 60 years ago.
“Research has shown personal electronic devices can emit a signal within the same frequency band as the aircraft’s communications and navigation systems, creating what is known as electromagnetic interference.”
But he added that one issue that some people may not have considered – ground interference.
“Wireless networks are connected by a series of towers; the networks could become overloaded if passengers flying over these ground networks are all using their phones. The number of passengers that flew in 2021 was over 2.2 billion, and that’s half of what the 2019 passenger numbers were.”
Different countries have different rules. For example, the European Union scrapped the need for flight mode last year.
Here in New Zealand, the deputy chief executive of aviation safety at the Civil Aviation Authority David Harrison, said the international standards for in-flight procedures are specified for safety reasons.
“These are set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and are incorporated into New Zealand legislation through Civil Aviation Rules.
“Use of mobile phones in flight is only permitted if the device is in flight mode because the device’s transmitting functions can interfere with navigation and communication systems.
“Passengers should always pay attention to the safety briefing each time they fly, to know what is permitted and not permitted.”
However, Harrison does warn that passengers “should not rely on social media videos for aviation safety advice”.