I bought my parents a portable DVD player for X-mas as they had planned 2 cruises with long flights from BOS this year. The first was a Mediterranean cruise from Barcelona in which they flew Alitalia and the second is a Hawaiian cruise and they are flying Delta.
They get on the Alitalia flight 619, a 767-300, from BOS to Milan last week and after the meal had been served they unpacked the DVD player. A male flight attendant walks by asks them what movie they are going to watch etc and tell them to enjoy. They no sooner get the headphones on when a female flight attendant comes over and starts yelling at them to “SHUT IT OFF IMMEDIATELY” and that they could not use it My dad then tells her that other flight attendant said they could use it. She then proceeded to tell them that any electronic device could cause the engines to shut off at any time on that type of aircraft and DVD, CD players, and computers with DVD players are not allowed. My father said “Excuse me?” as he was shocked at what she had just said. She said something to the effect of “you heard me, shut it off now.”
They did not bother trying to use it on either flight between Milan to Barcelona (Airbus A321) as it was not really long enought to bother with, though they did see people using them. On the way back today they flew Alitalia flight 619 another 767-300. This time they asked the Flight attendent if they are able to use it and again they are told no as it could cause the engines to stop.
Has anyone else ever been told anything like this (over 10k ft of course)?
My research indicates less than most do. It appears to me that not taking pictures of the crew is an American Airlines rule. Probably negotiated by the unions so that people won’t have evidence of their bad service. It’s definitely not a federal regulation.
Continental doesn’t mention a ban on taking pictures of the crew nor does Southwest or Delta/Northwest.
United doesn’t even mention cameras. So, I guess by not specifically banning them nor specifically allowing them, they are allowed. However, they do mention that tape drives for computers are permitted. Does anyone even use tape drives any more?
Fly on United and listen to Channel 9 on the in-flight entertainment system. It’s approved by the airline and you don’t need to worry about the frequencies - the pilots do the tuning for you.
You should be able to listen (if it is legal to listen, of course…see rest of the thread as it continues for the next three days) to each frequency handover…but if you miss one, well, good luck.
Radioreference.com had listings of center frequencies. There are a lot of them, since center airspace is so big.
Nevertheless…
It is not permitted to use a radio-frequency receiver on a commercial airliner in flight. PERIOD.
There is plausibly a serious safety risk; and you cannot quantitatively assess that risk; and your opinion wouldn’t matter in court anyway. It is selfish in the extreme to even bother trying - betting your enjoyment against the safety of 100 passengers. Bring your radio, but use it on the ground.
BTW, I am an avid Ch 9 listener too… when the pilot elects to enable it.
What… Are you affraid that the engines will stop? Or is it the “real” risk of someone maliciously interfering with the aviation freqs themselves? Or the “real” risk of the disruption of and inattention to the safety activities and instructions of the Flight Attendants?
No, no, and not any worse than now.
The risk is that the radio might emit enough signal to disrupt the same channels the crew is trying to listen to. This can occur accidentally, not just maliciously.
Yes, a radio receiver can emit a weak RF signal, at a frequency right next to the channel it’s receiving. Would you like a quick lesson in radio engineering? Start with en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superheterodyne
The difference between the built-in XM receiver on Airtran and FM radios is that the XM receiver is certified as being safe for aircraft use. However, there are literally millions of different models of FM radio. Even though they are all very similar in design and function, they would all have to be thoroughly tested to be certified as safe for aircraft use. A similar reason is why cell phones are not allowed.
The reference was to a portable XM/Sirius receiver, not the one built into an aircraft’s IFE.
I sincerely doubt that my portable XM/Sirius receiver is certified for anything other than RFI emissions and the fact that the airlines will allow me to use it on board an aircraft is an oversight on their part IMHO.
Dude is using a Hand-held to listen to ATC on the plane? First it’s not legal. second- GET A LIFE do you read your Private Pilot handbook while you do this?
Don’t get me going on cell phones again… The issue with cell phones has nothing to do with EMI/RFI. If it did, airlines wouldn’t have recently considered installing the antenna relay equipment to allow their use on-board at > 10,000’ with the rest of the “approved” electronic devices.
From what I understand, the radio you intend to use is a 2-meter and aviation transceiver. The fact that you have the capability to transmit on aviation frequencies is enough for you to be denied use of it on the aircraft. You could give them a fake handoff and vector them into a building or otherwise. There are many, many reasons why use of such a device is prohibited.
Radios are not allowed, period, this has been clearly explained. If you were using it against policies, and were caught, the nature of your radio could get you in some serious shit.
Just hoping that you weren’t one of those that believe that by merely having a PED turned on when not authorized <10,000’ (or anytime for that matter) that it’d make the engines stop.
Start with
(not this time, but others)
