Long time lurker, first day poster. I’m a million mile flyer on UA and listen to Channel 9 a lot of the time. A pilot told me yesterday to enjoy it while I can because he was pretty sure they were going to turn it off for security reasons. Would be a truly sad day if they do that!
I wouldn’t doubt that. With all the stuff going on with the airlines now days…
They said the same thing after 9/11, AAL587, and Reid. They also said that all of those were for ‘security reasons’. But when asked to elaborate on what those reasons were, they weren’t related to any security of the flight. If it were for ‘security reasons’, a UK-style law would have been passed, stating that it is illegal to rebroadcast any ATC communication not destined for you, effectively banning the rebroadcast of ATC for places like LiveATC, ATCMonitor, etc. They can’t, since it is all taxpayer funded.
Ch. 9 is a perk for UAL and is always at the pilot’s discretion, but they would be hard-pressed to say that it is for ‘security’. There is nothing in ATC communications that compromises the security of the aircraft or the travel of that aircraft.
If they do it, it would suck… but their rationale is a crock.
BL.
Citing security as a reason to shut off the ATC feed is as dumb as telling pilots not to point out landmarks, or making passengers stay seated during the last hour of the flight. All of this just goes to show how stupid the DHS, TSA, and POTUS are. This last bombing attempt just happened to occur before landing, but he could have done it at any time during the flight.
He was just guessing. He has no inside information. Pilots almost never do.
Trying not to get off topic but his goal was to blow up the plane over the US, where it would not only kill the people on the plane but Americans on the ground.
Anyway, I wish other airlines would have Channel 9.
If we just wipe the people off the map who are trying to kill us, we wouldn’t need to worry about TSA, traveling with liquids, channel 9, taking our shoes off and all the other stuff that only treats the symptom, not the problem. I spent half my life, post DB Cooper, boarding airline flights in the USA without going through any type of security. We can go back to that. 
A passenger does not need ATC or a pilot’s comments to figure out if he is over land. THE GUY HAD A WINDOW SEAT! Once this guy made it on the plane, it was way too late to worry about security. He should have never been sold a ticket in Nigeria, should have never cleared security in Amsterdam, and should have never been allowed in the US. Not letting him know where he was once he was on the airplane, is like trying to use a paper cup to stop a flood after the dam broke upstream. Honestly, I think we should have a public hanging of this guy, to send a message back. Instead the government will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on court cases, providing defense attorneys, appeals, and finally sticking him in prison. Even our own criminals are not afraid of our justice system.
Great post davy, right on! Whenever some idiot does something like this, my friend always says, get a rope!
Give him his wish, make him put on "custom made underware, put him in an aircraft hulk in AZ and blow him up, just my thought, A.C.
They already know who he was, who he has talked to, what he was planning on accomplishing and why it failed. He should have been dragged out onto the tarmac and shot in the back of the head on national television as soon as the aircraft came to a halt. Jail time, court appearances, legal fee’s and instant worldwide celebrity is nothing more than a slap in the face to the American taxpayer, who ultimately is the one being punished for this.
Where the hell is General Pershing!!!?
Getting back to the Channel 9 issue…
I haven’t been told anything about it being short lived. Above poster is correct, it’s up to the discretion of the PIC if the feed is turned on. Some pilots would rather not have the PAX listen in and never have it on for any of their routes. Also note that on a lot of aircraft the system is broken and flipping the switch in the cockpit does nothing, and there’s no priority on getting that fixed.
Joe
Actually, anything that’s ever broken on the aircraft is written up and put on the MEL list and taken care of as time allows.
If you have been told multiple times that the systems are commonly broken, I suspect someone is lying to you as an excuse for why it was off.
I think that Channel 9 is a wonderful thing. Maybe I’m just an airline geek, but I found that, after having several really nasty flights in a row (severe turbulence, strange PAX behavior, aborted landings) that listening to ATC actually calmed me down incredibly.
For the first time I understood why the pilot was turning or climbing; it was simply because ATC had told him to! And since the communications between the ground and pilots sounds so remarkably mundane, it gives the nervous flier a real sense that “everything is OK.”
I recovered from my brief “fear of flying,” but I still listen. And I hope I can continue to do so…
I think that Channel 9 is a wonderful thing. Maybe I’m just an airline geek, but I found that, after having several really nasty flights in a row (severe turbulence, strange PAX behavior, aborted landings) that listening to ATC actually calmed me down incredibly.
For the first time I understood why the pilot was turning or climbing; it was simply because ATC had told him to! And since the communications between the ground and pilots sounds so remarkably mundane, it gives the nervous flier a real sense that “everything is OK.”
I recovered from my brief “fear of flying,” but I still listen. And I hope I can continue to do so…
From one who sits in the left seat on our (UAL) 757/767’s, I’m here to tell you that there is absolutely NOTHING to this rumor. I have channel 9 on all the time (except when prohibited…can’t get into it here). Suffice to say there are times for security reasons when we won’t select it. Having said that, on the other 90% of our flights it’s available and it is at the Captain’s discretion.
As I mentioned previously, when able, I always have it on and make mention of that to the passengers via the P/A usually prior to departure.
As to it being inoperative I’ll wave the BS flag on that one! I’ve never, ever, seen it not operable. All it is people is a simple switch. Nothing more than that.
The time I find it the most valuable is when we’re experiencing weather/holding delays. When this happens and we’re facing a lengthy ground/airborne delay I usually tell the passengers to listen along on Channel 9 if they choose to and they’ll have the info as soon as we in the cockpit do. Goes a long way toward establishing credibility.
So if/when you’re aboard a UAL flight and you’d like to listen along to ATC just ask one of the Flight Attendant’s to ask the Captain if he/she could please select it on. Nuff said.
Cheers,
Z 8)
And there you have it!
And make sure the volume is turned up and your headphones are plugged all the way in. For some reason (just in a few experiences of mine) CH9 comes in much lower on volume than the other standard channels. Not a gripe by any means, just an observation. 
Naah. The just have a REALLY long deferral time in their MEL. Maybe it’s one of the 180 day items. Which gets fixed and broken again on day 181.