If you fly, you'll be familiar with the line, or something similar. But there's actually
no known reason for the petty rule:
Michael Altschul, senior vice president and legal counsel for CTIA, the wireless industry association, said a study that it conducted more than a decade ago found no interference from mobile devices. “The fact is, the radio frequencies that are assigned for aviation use are separate from commercial use,” Mr. Altschul said. “Plus, the wiring and instruments for aircraft are shielded to protect them from interference from commercial wireless devices.” [F.A.A. spokesman] Mr. [Les] Dorr reluctantly agreed. “There have never been any reported accidents from these kinds of devices on planes,” he said.
James Fallows
nods, but adds that there is an 'admittedly weak' rationale behind annoying regulation like this:
If anything went wrong on a crowded airline flight, the flight crew would need everyone's full attention, now. The prevailing theory is that passengers are less likely to be distracted if they're not cocooned by their acoustic headsets or distracted by their iPads.
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