Survey: 30% of Airline passengers are forgetting to turn off their phones or tablets before takeoff

It is no secret that the FAA is considering changing the rules that force owners of portable electronic devices, like a smartphone or tablet, to turn off their devices prior to takeoff and landing. Considering that pilots now use Apple iPad tablets in the cockpit instead of paper maps, we'd say that the worry that a smartphone left on is going to bring down an airliner has been overdone. Meanwhile, a survey conducted by the Consumer Electronics Association has discovered some interesting things.

During the survey period, 69% of those who carried a portable electronic device (PED) onto a plane, used them in flight, while 30% accidentally left their PED on during the course of a flight. 61% of the devices that were left on by accident were smartphones. And prior to takeoff, when the flight crew asks those with such devices to turn them off, only 59% make sure that they have turned their smartphone or tablet or laptop completely off. 21% say they simply switch their PED to airplane mode, which shuts down the radios inside the unit but leaves them powered up.


The study is going to be turned over to the FAA to help guide the agency in drafting new rules which are expected to be released in July. 40% of airline travelers say that they would like to be able to use their devices during all aspects of a flight including takeoff and landing. The most commonly used PED during flights is the smartphone which accounts for 28% of such devices. That is followed by laptops with 25% of inflight PED use. Tablets and MP3 players scored a tie, each accounting for 23% of device use on a plane. E-readers finished last with a 13% talley. The survey was taken between December 14th and December 18th of last year.

Current rules will probably get changed, but it will happen too late for some people. Who can forget that Alec Baldwin got kicked off an American Airlines flight in 2011 for refusing to turn off his Apple iPhone with which he was playing a game of Words with Friends. Baldwin refused to listen to the flight crew's demand that he turn off his handset prior to take off.

scource: CEA via AllThingsD