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Texan arrested for mobile calls on aircraft
We're slowly starting to see more stories of airline crews getting fed up and kicking people off flights for using their mobile phones, but none are as controversial as this.A Texas businessman named Joe Jones was recently arrested following a Southwest Airlines flight on which he refused to get off of his phone prior to landing. Flight attendants had repeatedly asked the man to stop the conversation and turn off his mobile, receiving a "kiss my ass" in return each time they asked. Frustrated, they had state police meet him at the gate, where he continued to make a ruckus.
As his spokesman later explained, however, Jones had just received word that his father's heart had stopped beating and was wildly trying to contact the hospital. Given the life and death situation, he felt it necessary to make the phone calls.
And I can empathize with that situation -- if I knew that my parents were gravely ill and had to call the hospital, I can totally see how I would be trying to call the doctor in panic. My questions are as follows: how did Jones get the message in the first place? Was he on the plane with his phone on when a text came in or did he get the call before he boarded? And isn't interfering with an aircraft landing with your mobile phone signal also a life and death situation?
What strange things have been found on planes?
Reader Comments (Page 10 of 10)
tom May 14th 2008 7:59PM
all of you who say that there is a chance of interference when using mobile phones on planes are all wrong. airlines run on a different frequency than wireless network providers. the belief that these frequencies intertwine is a complete myth. therefore, the argument that a large quantity of passengers using their phones on planes is moot, due to the different frequencies used.
Mike Joseph May 14th 2008 7:53PM
Remember when people who broke the rules were considered the ones at fault? Wow....glad its a liberal-minded country now, huh?
Pathetic.
Don May 14th 2008 7:56PM
Just like a Texan. The attitude of this guy is very very familar if you know any Texans.
Kathy May 14th 2008 7:57PM
Knowing the rules for traveling these days, this man either knew something was up with his father before he was on the plane, and could've waited to arrive at the airport where he most likely was going to see his father. In either case; he wasn't getting off mid air and could've made those urgent calls once the plane safely landed and the passengers exited. This is just an arrogant, obnoxious bully, and was using this as an excuse to cause attention to himself. Now, he's arrested, this process takes time, tax payer's dollars and his father's condition unknown to him. What did he accomplish by being rude and not following rules of safety in the air?
Sorry for his father, but it would've been easier to tell the stewardess the facts, ask what else can be done to make this trip easier, and when would be a good time to speak to his family? Sure not all the stewardesses are uncaring and too full of themselves, and are trained to handle crisis', although, I can say twice I have made round trips, both times hitting bad turbulence and the stewardess' did panic! Not an easy sight when you have your young children on the flight with you. But not all are that inept!
TobyU May 14th 2008 8:02PM
You can't fight FAA rules very much, but it IS stupid rules as far as safety goes. Ask the pilots.....they do it all the time. There is NO chance of danger from cell phone use. You supporters refuse to accept this because you want to rationalize a reason not to have cell phones in use. You actually just don't want people using cell phones because you are annoyed by them.
You probably support places like doctor's office waiting rooms and hostpitals putting signs up against cell phone use also.....don't you???
I know you don't like them, but get used to it and get over it. I hope people stand out at the bus stop or olong the street and shout their conversation jsut to bug you.
Give it 10-15 years and we'll all be saying..."Remember when it was ILLEGAL to talk on a cell phone on a plane?" Just like we can't imagine being able to SMOKE on a plane. Remember that.
WOW, how did all those flights make it safely with 50+ passengers waving around a lit fire stick???
BTW I hate cell phone haters and I make sure something dies for my every meal. I am anti politically correct and darn proud of it.
Notgullible May 14th 2008 8:06PM
His attitude warrented arrest. I get sick and tired of people on flights that think they can do what they want, whenever they want. To disobey a flight attendent is a federal offense. He deserved the arrest.
Toni May 14th 2008 8:07PM
Are those of you who support this idiot listening to what you're saying to the rest of us? You're telling all of us who understand that the signals used in telecommunications of many sorts, including in cell phones, that are disruptive of other signals such as those used by air traffic control and the crew in the cockpit, that your personal phone calls are worth more than our safety. Don't sit near me during a flight then, because I promise you, you will not like what I'll do to YOU and your freaking phone. You'll get a large dose of what I want to do to any terrorist -- ones very much like you. Be warned all of you who think you've some right to endanger me or mine. Soon our phones, computers, any electronics will be taken from us before we board and it will be because of hard-headed lamebrains like you all. This case is rare in that the call might, MIGHT, have been legit, and it is rare indeed.
BanCellPhones May 14th 2008 9:34PM
TobyU - People like you who hold these types of arrogant views are part of a much bigger problem. This type of lack of respect for everyone but yourself is why smokers are being banned everywhere and why there are more and more signs going up banning cell phone usage. We all need to be more respectful of others space. Talking loudly on your cell phone in public is just plain obnoxious and rude. No one cares about your conversations. No one wants to hear you going on and on about nothing. It is insane to be in a movie theater, a bookstore, church, the library, or even shopping in the grocery store and be assaulted by cell phone user noise pollution. I hope after we eventually get cell phone noise banned - we can work on banning loud automobiles and motorcycles.
Notgullible May 14th 2008 8:10PM
He violated a federal law, disobeying a flight attendant. He could have waited a few minutes while they landed. He deserved the arrest.
Senile Citizen May 14th 2008 8:11PM
Nowhere in the above article does it state that the man's explanation was confirmed by authorities. Is it for real or is it a story that he made up? I'll reserve my judgemental opinion of him till all the facts come out. AOL seems to be famous for these inflamatory news blurbs that hardly ever contain all the pertinent facts.
Toni May 14th 2008 8:30PM
For those of you who are claiming without credible references to prove you are pilots or involved in some pertinent way with aviation, your comments are merely that and hold no bearing on this happening. Cell phone signals do, in fact, disrupt other signals. The proof is readily available to any who wish to search for it. From howstuffworks.com: An airplane contains a number of radios for a variety of tasks. There is a radio that the pilots use to talk to ground control and air traffic control (ATC). There is another radio that the plane uses to disclose its position to ATC computers. There are radar units used for guidance and weather detection, and so on. All of these radios are transmitting and receiving information at specific frequencies. If someone were to turn on a cell phone, the cell phone would transmit with a great deal of power (up to 3 watts). If it happens to create interference that overlaps with radio frequencies the plane is using, then messages between people or computers may be garbled. If one of the wires in the plane has damaged shielding, there is some possibility of the wire picking up the phone's signals just like my computer's speakers do. That could create faulty messages between pieces of equipment within the plane.
bob May 14th 2008 8:30PM
actually the use of cell phones do not intefer with any insturments when landing or taking off in an airplane.
texas radio May 14th 2008 8:41PM
Airline NAZIS!!
Patti May 14th 2008 9:00PM
toddler, I think you're a disgusting pig. My daughter is a flight attendant and passenger safety is her top priority. If you think she would suck your *bleep*, rest assured she'd tell you that thing is so ugly you should put it away and never let it see daylight again!!
And then, with courtesy and a smile, she'd continue passing out the food and drinks to those who deserve them.
Luise May 14th 2008 10:53PM
What did we do before we had a cell phone? how stupid..
Trevor May 20th 2008 3:32PM
Many people have shared my same opinion. Rules are rules. Its not that the cell phones interfere with the navigational equipment on the aircraft, but the fact of giving the respect to the rest of all of the passengers around you who want a peaceful flight and dont really care about what you are going to do with your Aunt Sally when you get off of the plane, etc. People are very obnoxious when they talk on cell phones. I could just imagine if there was a plane full of them just because they "could".
The guy got what he deserved. You are a prick, sucks for you. Personally, if I were an attendant and he tried to explain the situation, I would have had plenty of sympathy. For the other passengers I would have asked him to go towards the back of the aircraft if it was at an appropriate time during the flight.