Pilot Calms Your Fears Over Phones Being Left On Mid-Flight

There are usually three types of flyers. Those that love it, those that are ambivalent towards it and those that absolutely loathe it.

The latter group spend their time doing all they can to make sure things go as smoothly as possible. Surrounding trays and window covers must be up, all seats must be upright and seat belts securely fastened.

As well as that, they also want to know that all electrical devices are switched off. Not even on airplane mode, just fully switched off and remaining that way until they touch down on the tarmac.

Credit: PA

They assume that the use of a phone, tablet or other media devices will somehow interact with the plane, giving it an inability to fly.

In reality the devices have no effect on the actual equipment on board, but do affect the pilots.

Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, EasyJet pilot, Chris Forster, busted many of the myths that surround flying - helping to put those fears to bed, maybe.

Phones? "Nothing to be concerned about," according to Chris. "Aircraft control systems are so sophisticated now that they wouldn't cause any interference.

"The regulations date back many years to when we didn't even have things like iPads.

"The laws are starting to be relaxed - you can now use your devices in flight safety mode - and I think we'll see more changes over the next few years."

It's been largely reported in the past that a phone can have an effect on pilots' headsets, prompting that weird, annoying noise that blares out when your phone receives a message near a set of speakers.

Imagine that in your ear.

via GIPHY

Another pilot said in a Facebook comment: "Cell phones need to be in airplane mode for sure. I have gotten interference over my radios during the landing phase many times.

"It's when your phone is trying to connect to a tower. It makes the same interference sound that you'd hear if you placed your phone next to your speakers.

"This noise is not only distracting but it could also cause us to miss key instructions from air traffic control. So keep the phones off, please. Why risk everyone's safety so you can check Facebook five minutes sooner?"

To dispel another common myth that people buy into during flights, Chris Forster went through whether a door could suddenly be opened mid-flight.

"The aircraft is pressurized and the doors are what we call 'plug doors', which prevents them from being opened until the pressure is released," reassures Chris.

Neither is that 'heart-in-your-mouth' turbulence even remotely likely to bring down your plane.

He said: "An aircraft is built to withstand several times the force of turbulence you're ever likely to experience."

So there you go - next time you fly, you can do so (slightly more) peacefully.

Topics: flight, Plane, Pilot, phone

Mark McGowan

Mark is a journalist at LADbible, who joined in 2015 after a year as a freelance writer. In the past he blogged for independent football fan channel Redmen TV, after graduating from Staffordshire University with degrees in journalism and English literature. He has worked on campaigns such as UOKM8? and IIOC.