I’m not talking about playing games or watching stuff on flight mode, I’m talking about making calls and texting or using mobile data.
As a kid my parents told me that it interfered with the pilot and they couldn’t see but I realised that’s the same reason they don’t like the overhead light in the car.
In: Technology
Historically, aircraft instruments and systems that were vital for critical aircraft operations (especially takeoff and landing, but also navigation) were unshielded against cellular radiation from phones. The worse case I can think of is with ILS, instrument landing system, where the plane relies on radio communication with devices on the ground in order to make a safe approach to the runway. Especially when the pilot cannot make a visual approach. These could be interfered with, and there’s a risk that false readouts could lead to errors, given that phone technology is constantly changing like with 5G.
Phones have never caused a crash, but they have caused issues for pilots in the past. Nowadays, there are systems which actively block signals whilst in the air (IIRC, which is why you usually don’t have signal in flight even with a cell tower in line of sight), but some aircraft are able to route cell data through a system on the plane which can safely connect people to make calls and texts. There are even some carriers which offer WiFi services, however these can be extremely expensive as they rely on satellite communication.
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