As the use of personal electronic devices has boomed, so have complaints about restrictions on their use, especially during airplane takeoff and landing. Opponents of these restrictions claim use of devices such as cell phones, particularly, has not been shown definitively to have an affect on any operations of the aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration and other organizations have been taking the “better safe than sorry” approach. Where does the truth lie in this debate?

The most frequently cited reason for turning off electronic devices during takeoff and landing is that these could interfere with the aircraft’s communication and navigation. When approaching Podunk Field, communication might not be such a problem, but when leaving or approaching O’Hare International Airport, for example, a communications failure could prove disastrous on a titanic scale.

Takeoff and landing are, of course, critical times during a flight. Crashes and crises rarely happen when an aircraft is at cruising altitude. If bad things are going to happen, they generally happen during takeoff and landing. The maneuvers required during takeoff and landing require the crew’s undivided attention. They must be in constant communication with the tower, and their instruments must be working correctly to safely land or launch the aircraft, particularly at a busy airport.

Personal electronic devices, especially cell phones and laptop computers with the wireless Internet connection functioning, do emit signals as they operate. Conventional wisdom has dictated these signals are unlikely to affect the digital, shielded systems of modern aircraft during takeoff and landing — but unlikely and impossible are not synonymous. Signals from some electronic devices, such as portable CD players have been known to cause interference in the communications or navigation systems of older, pre-1984 jets. However, airlines routinely keep their jets in service for 20 years or more, so it is definitely possible that a passenger flying today might find himself aboard an older aircraft with less shielding.

Another reason for electronic devices to be turned off during takeoff and landing is that, even though there is little likelihood of a CD player interfering with the aircraft’s operations, flight attendants cannot monitor every single electronic device aboard the aircraft. They do not have the training to ascertain whether an electronic device might be an interfering agent or not. Therefore, the simplest solution is to have all such devices turned off during takeoff and landing.

A 2000 Congressional hearing failed to make a definitive decision on whether electronic devices do, in fact, interfere with an aircraft during takeoff and landing. Since this was the case, the decision was to have all such devices turned off, since that would harm no one, was a free solution, and was known to be a viable alternative. The U.S. government certainly did not want to clear the use of these devices during takeoff and landing and then have the unthinkable happen — a crash caused by interference from a laptop. World governments and airlines have chosen to follow this rationale, in general. Plus, who wants to listen to 300 people talking at full volume on cell phones during a four-hour flight? Sky marshals would have to travel on every flight to prevent passengers from attacking each other.

On average, an aircraft takes about 15-20 minutes to reach 10,000 feet (3.1 kilometers), which is considered cruising altitude. It is not unreasonable to ask passengers to turn off personal electronic devices during the first 20 minutes and last 10 minutes of a flight to ensure the safety of everyone on board the aircraft, and of those in the surrounding skies.