MythBusters Episode 49: "Cell Phones on a Plane"
Air Date: March 15, 2006
You can fly with a life raft if you fill it with helium.
busted
The amount of helium required to lift a person off the ground (let alone the raft itself) is prohibitively immense, and such a raft of adequate size would be quite flimsy. In fact, the final test of the raft had to be aborted because of an unbalanced release of the ties, causing Adam to become entangled and destroying the raft in the process.
The ban on cell phones on aircraft is designed to force passengers to use the expensive in-flight phones.
busted
It was found that cell phone signals, specifically those in the 800-900 MHz range, did intefere with unshielded cockpit instrumentation. Because older aircraft with unshielded wiring can be affected, and because of the possible problems that may arise by having many airborne cell phones "seeing" multiple cell phone towers, the FCC (via enforcement through the FAA) still deems it best to err on the safe side and prohibit the use of cell phones while airborne.
gps units receive radio signals, they don’t transmit them. it is transmiters that can potentially interfer with the instroments, that guy is just a wannabe geek, otherwise he’d know that.
July 16, 2007 at 5:17 PMis possible cloning a phone cellular?
August 21, 2007 at 7:57 PMThey didn’t do the cell phone myth justice? They should have gone up in the plane to test it. It is not illegal under part 91 in visual meteorological conditions. It needs retested.
September 20, 2007 at 6:38 PMhow old is the aircraft the show mentioning?
what kind of instructment are effected?
October 2, 2007 at 3:21 AMI work in the petro chemical business and we have been told that Cell phones will set off an explosion I was wondering if you have done any testing like this if so please send me the results. Thanks Harry
October 3, 2007 at 6:54 AMthere transmiiter was way to powerful, they should have used a proper phone.
November 4, 2007 at 9:17 PMI am glad to know the cell phone myth was busted. However, would someone tell the FAA and the airline industry. Last fight I took from Washington DC to Rome they feaked out over using your cell phone.
December 5, 2007 at 6:57 AMWhat about Satellite Radio receivers, like the XM Helix, on which you can listen to live XM Radio on the go?
Of course, it’s a given that you can’t listen during takeoff or landing, but still, just a thought…
January 23, 2008 at 11:56 PMCheck out the website above for a quick discussion of the technical aspects of the cellphone/plane myth as well as a critical thinking exercise.
January 25, 2008 at 10:14 AMI am retired now, but was formerly a corporate banking officer and flew frequently with customers on their private aircraft, both multiengined reciprocating, turboprops, and jets. On numerous occasions, the customer and others would be on their cell phones, talking at the same time long before we landed. It may be illegal and play hell with phone cells, but it is done constantly, frequently, and all the time. I have NEVER heard of or experienced any adverse effects to any of the aircraft involved.
January 26, 2008 at 10:21 PMI work on the electrical and avionic systems on commercial airplanes. The airplane that they tested this myth on is a late model airplane that has digital avionics with shielded data bus wiring, and I agree, should not have a problem. However, the FAA regulation is an umbrella so that analog airplanes such as the DC-9, DC-10, 737 Classics, and 747 Classics are covered. These are the airplane types that the show should have tested their signal generator on. I have been on a flight on a 737-300 where the pilot, after two PA warning announcements, stormed out of the flight deck to let the passenger see him up close and personal.
February 7, 2008 at 5:08 PMThis really needs to be retested. This doesn’t make any sense. Not to mention, don’t cell phones have a fairly limited range. 1 to 2 miles. At altitude they can’t even get a signal.
February 14, 2008 at 5:48 PM