Legal Commentary

A few months ago I was flying into National Airport in DC, and I noticed that the teenage boy next to me was texting.  I?m a wimpy flyer, and since September 11th the landings at National have become particularly harrowing because pilots are required to follow the Potomac River (an awfully twisty river) to the airport.

So while clutching my armrests and taking very deep breaths, I tell the kid next to me to stop texting.  To his credit (or perhaps because I didn?t look completely rational), the kid put his phone away, and after we landed he asked why I wanted him to stop texting.  I told him that they tell us to shut off our phones during flights for a reason, and so it must not be safe.  To which he responded ?do you think that is really true??

I?m not certain whether it is unsafe to text or make cell phone calls while flying.  I?ve occasionally seen news reports that some airline or another is going to allow cell phone use in flight.  But I?ve always interpreted the instructions from the pilot/crew to turn off phones for the flight as an implicit warning that their use is dangerous (maybe the warning has been explicit on some flights, I can?t remember).  But without clear information that such behavior *is* safe, shouldn?t we keep our phones off?  At least when flying next to someone as scared as me . . .?