Before taking off the aircraft of many airlines, the aircraft commander reports the need to turn off the phone or turn on the aircraft mode. Let's try to answer the question of whether it is really necessary to do this for the safety of flights.
Publications on this topic Appear regularly-as in more or less profile and technical publications, and on sites, generally not related to issues of technology or aviation industry. As an explanation, a set of reasons is proposed: from quite reasonable ones, such as potential deterioration in navigation systems, a possible impact on the connection of the pilot with the dispatcher or ritualthat helps to understand whether there are “problem” passengers on board, to near -consultation - supposedly this is the result conspiracy Airlines and manufacturers of special equipment for calls in the flight (below we will tell you what this technique).
Air carriers and regulators are in no hurry to remove restrictions on the use of cellular networks during take -off and landing, despite the fact that no case has been recorded when the use of mobile phones has led to a crash. Since this is quite well -known information, many passengers do not turn off their devices, which becomes a subject not only for conflicts, but also for humor.
It’s difficult to say exactly how many people ignore the requirements of airlines. But the survey conducted by the Allianz Travel Insurance Insurance Company in 2017, showedthat 40% of Americans do not always include aircraft mode (in 2012 such was About 30%), and 14% send text messages or call during the flight. Data another The survey conducted in 2019 is said that every 15th respondent is not disconnected by the phone and does not translate it into aircraft mode even after the request of the flight attendant. The desire of people to remain in touch forced the airline to look for a way out, and the regulators - to conduct research.
What are the risks? Let's look at the story in development. A complete ban on the use of cell phones and other electronic devices on board appeared Back in 1991, when personal communication devices were not yet as common as now. In the 1990s, by data The profile magazine SmartCockpit, several cases of autopilot failure and link problems were associated using electronic devices and phones. The fears were justified by the fact that mobile phones work at frequencies close to the frequencies of on -board aircraft equipment. Boeing company Subsequently She conducted a number of experiments in similar conditions, but the result did not confirm the negative impact of the on phones. Over the next years, such tests were carried out under the auspices of the US Department of Transport, and their result was also negative, which was already reflected in 2005 in report Assistant to the Administrator of the FAA (Federal Civil Aviation Department of the United States) for Aviation Security of Nicholas A. Sabatini.
At the end of the 2000s steel appear And portable basic Stations Cellular communications on airplanes. On such sides, passengers were allowed (for a fee) to make voice calls. Study FAA showed that these stations, apparently, do not affect safety, as do not affect passengers on the sides where special devices were not installed. In 2011, IATA (International Association of Air Transport) analyzed incidents associated with pilots with the equipment included (75 failures for six years from 2003 to 2009; according to CNN calculations, this is one incident for 283,000 flights). Analysis showedthat these malfunctions are not confirmed or cannot be confidently related to passenger devices. But the principle of “better to overdoing than to unlearn” for regulators looked more logical. With passengers and airlines, the situation was exactly the opposite.
As a result of many years of discussion in 2013 FAA Allows The use of electronic devices in all phases of the flight and removes the requirement to completely turn off phones and smartphones. However, the requirement to transfer the device to aircraft mode is preserved, and for air carriers there is requirement To make sure whether it is aircraft with the necessary technical parameters. In simple words, is modern navigation and other equipment enough, which cannot affect the signals of user devices on board? Are the on -board systems at the same frequencies as the technique of passengers work? In 2014, a similar solution Accepts EASA (European Flight Security Agency).
In 2022 the European Commission Decidedthat on the sides of the aircraft you can use 5G networks, and by June 30, 2023, member states must make 5 GHz frequency strips available for use in transport. There is such an initiative in the United States, but 5G in the States works In the frequency range close to the range of the on -board systems, so the solution of this issue is still postponed.
Resolution of the European Commission meanswhich is very likely to cancel the requirements to include aircraft mode on European flights since June 2023. The procedure is still unclear: whether it will be complete cancellation or the requirement to turn on the aircraft mode during the take -off will remain. Conservative rules, which are voiced at each departure, are probably more related to the habit. The versions about the identification of “problematic” passengers in this way or that the opportunity to call unnecessarily talkative passengers will also look quite convincing. violates Comfort sitting nearby.
Image on the cover: Scitterphoto
Most likely not true
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