Are Cell Phones Really Dangerous to Planes?

[iholla]

well it goes with the startling fact that somehow, the waves emmited from your mobile phone somehow ignite some products, like gasoline have you noticed they ask you to switch your cell phone off now?!!...they have factual evidence to say that radio waves emmited from your phone can blow up gasoline, so they done want the risk of the kerosene in the air plane to ignite either

Facts I am certain they do not have. there have been a number of controlled experiments carried out about this. In one of the experiments, not even 30 cellphones, all active could ignite a spark when there was a trailer full of gas, open tanks and an overflowing pump!

At this moment, fires are caused more at gas stations by static electricity generated on your clothes and the vehicle. In cases where the user steps out of the car while talking on his mobile phone, touching the car repeatedly and then proceeding to the pump, there has been explosions. this is cause of the static electricity and not the phone...alas...people only remember the phone issue!

 

[deadsoul]

Nope its not likely...I have used cell while on...i dont know why they instruct...to switch it off

 

[sunils]

Nope its not likely...I have used cell while on...i dont know why they instruct...to switch it off

Since you have used it, did they tell you to do so. if yes could have asked them.

 

[krisyafc]

Well, no. If a plane is landing or taking off its said there can be some interference with mobile phones and planes electrical systems. If this does happen the only bad thing that can happen is COM shutdown.

The main system has nothing to do with wireless so no worries.

 

[Spartan Erik]

I'm sure if you threw it into the engines, a cell phone could be dangerous to a plane!

Heh.

 

[Smith6612]

Well, that's an obvious right there

 

[abhishekh]

The chances of anything wrong happening due to usage of cell phone are something like 1 billion : 1
If you consider the radiation at the cell phone antenna to be 100% then,
- at 1 cm away from phone the radiation level is less than 50%
- at 2 cm away it is less than 10%
beyond that it is just harmless radio frequency.
The conditions in which these radiations can ignite fuel are very rare to occur.
Just imagine, if it was That dangerous, then what would have happened to your brain when you talk on the phone???

A few incidents have occurred in the past when pilot's radio transmission was interfered by other frequencies.
Therefore as a precautionary measure, the cell phones have to be switched off.

 

[Hazirak]

well it goes with the startling fact that somehow, the waves emmited from your mobile phone somehow ignite some products, like gasoline have you noticed they ask you to switch your cell phone off now?!!...they have factual evidence to say that radio waves emmited from your phone can blow up gasoline, so they done want the risk of the kerosene in the air plane to ignite either

Someone apparently doesn't watch Mythbusters. It was one of the first myths they tested, and no cell phone ever blew up a box full of gasoline vapor - they had to introduce their own spark to get it to go up in flames (it could be argued that this proves the gas/air mixture was ignitable, but I think they just did it for fun). The myth was later revisited with the same results, and I recall them even shorting the battery out with a less-than-explosive outcome.

In other words, it's safe to say a phone won't ignite an airplane's fuel either. I would love for you to post this factual evidence, but I find it hard to top actually putting a cell phone inside a box full of gasoline vapor and calling it.

 

[AutoItKing]

Cell phones pose no threat to airplanes, Adam and Jaimie proved it. I myself have used a cell phone in a plane. It's really just as a formality and a general precaution in case it does do something to the plane.

 

[Daniel S]

i dont think mobiles would affect the plane as some phones have inflight mode and they say to turn them off aswell