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Turn your phone off when told to - or risk being kicked off your flight
Anyone that has flown knows that the cabin crew will make a big deal about having all passengers turn electronic devices off as soon as the cabin doors are closed. Of course, there are always a couple of people that need a little extra reminding. Then there are of course those passengers that need to make a call that is apparently so important, they'll ignore all requests to turn their phone off. A 20 year old man from Colorado fits that profile - and his phone call was so important, that it triggered a fight when he refused to turn his phone off. By the time the fight broke out, the plane had taken off from Charles De Gaulle airport, and four American security agents got involved.
With a disruptive passenger on board, the pilot took no risks, turned the plane around and landed back at the airport where the man was handed over to French police officers.
To make matters worse for this
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 5)
sylvia Jan 29th 2010 10:21PM
I vote give the idiot a row boat, oars,some water, and a blanket and let him row himself home.
fred Jan 29th 2010 10:22PM
Unless there is a compelling reason to turn the cell off,the airline has no right to ask it....If they told toy to strip, quit breathing,jump from 20,000 ft , or do pushups , would you obey? After all, he is the captain. Some of you people need to think about standing up for yourselves and and resist yielding to outside pressures , and government backed flight rules that have nothing to do with safety or security, but which is put in place because of security and control fears. The federal government is our worst enemy and we wont be free until everybody realizes it. 545 people that compose the House, Senate, and the supreme court are responsible and who pays their salaries?....the federal government
emjones35 Jan 29th 2010 10:50PM
If you don't want to obey the guidelines of an airline, I guess you will be calling Greyhound or you are more then welcome to drive yourself..but then again you will be forced to obey the laws of the roads. Walking seems your best alternative.
Gina Jan 29th 2010 10:26PM
I prefer to have the pilot in control as this one demonstrated, and not be at the mercy of some passenger who never appeared to control his Oppositional Defiant Disorder.
nancy Jan 29th 2010 10:40PM
Additionally, if you are on the phone or on your computer when the flight crew is tyring to communicate with you, you will miss announcements. In emergencies, those who do well are those who listen to safety instructions and the closest exits.
Arlene Jan 29th 2010 10:32PM
Nobody on an airplane wants to listen to someone talking on their cell phone. I wish they'd make you turn it off at the gate, period. My guess, they have you turn it off before take off so the cabin crew can do their job-telling you to put your head between your legs to save your life in a crash.
By the way, do the little lights really work in a crash?
Greg Jan 29th 2010 10:45PM
Bottom Line : It's Federal Law............Turn off electronic devices below 10,000 Feet............End of Discussion
Dennis Jan 29th 2010 11:00PM
They tell you the same thing in the hospitals but if you understood electronics you would realized all that equipment is shielded from interferance they are suggesting to the public. EMF doesn't effect this equipment but they aren't taking any chances and enjoy being anal.
Li Jan 29th 2010 10:51PM
There are many reasons that cell phones are banned on flights but they are mostly financial and commercial, not safety. Im a commercial pilot, I fly with my cell phone for safety reasons, mostly to contact the tower during a radio or power failure. Cell phones do not interfere with nav systems and many FAA pros will admit that too. Only once did an engineer say otherwise but it was not a safety issue. The guy should have been tossed from the flight but not banned. Cell phones arent the prob, its the obnoxious rude loud mouths that use them while everyone else wants a little privacy and quiet time that are the problems. Maybe the airlines need to offer a telephone booth the size of a lavatory (for a fee) for those who cant keep their mouths shut so the rest of us can fly in peace.
jo Jan 29th 2010 10:58PM
good thing he wasnt shot to death or sent to prison like the guy who went out the wrong door at an airport
fred Jan 30th 2010 12:39AM
Dan....Have you ever broken any rules because they interfered with your freedom or were totally arbitrary? Ever broken the speed limit in a school zone at midnight when there are no children were present but the blinking light malfunctioned ?. We use to live in a free country founded by people with guts and spines that refused to follow the rules of the British. We opted for FREEDOM from excessive control. I certainly would fear having you beside me in combat because you are of a spinless ,gutless ,hippocritical mentality . If cell phones were a hazard to any part of flying, they would be confiscated at the gate with all the other items determined to be dangerous. Freedom is granted by God......not the airlines or government.....this is an arbitrary rule no more necessary than being told by the captain to strip. You need to find the guts to defend your freedoms while you can and not depend on others to do your fighting....you may be the one that walks....to the beat of someone elses' drum. Grow up and don't be so narrow minded
Dan Jan 29th 2010 11:12PM
If "Fred" ISN'T the idiot who got kicked off of the plane, it doesn't matter: he's just as idiotic. Fred you are clueless.
Lita Jan 29th 2010 11:15PM
I'd love to know what was so important that it couldn't wait until the plane landed. Or better yet, why didn't the jackass make the call before he got on the plane?
(Just listen to the brainless nattering that you hear as you walk from place to place.) I'm glad this self-important idiot got his comeuppance. He should also be placed on the do-not-fly list as well. When you get on an airplane, you follow the rules--whether you agree with them or not. If you don't like it, charter your own plane. Here is another example of how you can't reason with stupid people.
Mark Jan 29th 2010 11:21PM
So many comments that I would like to reply to but I will just make a general comment. I haven't done any research to assure the validity of this however, I heard the main reason the airlines don't want you using the phones is because the cell phone companies don't know how to charge for using phones while in flight. That's what one can use it while on ground but not in the air. The cell phone companies have an agreement with the airlines. I may sound off-based however considering our capitalist society there may be some truth to that. What sound more plausible is what someone mentioned that the airlines want you to use there phones.
Anyway, I wanted to talk about the individuals mentioning following rules "just because" and that no airlines shouldn't let the indivual that got kicked off fly back home. Rules should have a purpose and not just because. For example, airlines ban smoking on the plane becasue it cause cancer and second hand smoke is dangerous and sometimes causes more harm to the individuals not smoking. In this country not too long ago there was a rule that people of African desent couldn't do certain things or go certain places. However, would it be fair to humanity if we were to keep that rule and follow it because it is a rule. We shouldn't have to follow a rule blindly. If a rule is in place that we should follow, it should have a reason rule that rule.
As for the people saying that the person who got kicked off feels the world revolves around them and he shouldn't be allowed to come back home, the statement is place yourself in someone elses shoes. What if he went to bury his mother and he left right after the funeral because his wife was having a child. He finds out that she is having difficulties and the baby may not make it. He needs another 3 minutes to find out if his wife will make when someone says you need to get off the phone. Now, knowing that this rule may just be a capitalistic rule is it really just that he have to get off not knowing if his wife will make it? Is it just that he be stranded in another country while his wife and child may need him back home?
I don't know why he was on the phone, heck, maybe he just wanted to tell his friend a joke or something....... but then maybe he was checking on his wife. Did the punishment really fit the crime?
John Jan 29th 2010 11:45PM
Looks like the terrorists have won... :-(
Susan Jan 30th 2010 4:16AM
and what if he was just an asshole?
j Jan 29th 2010 11:40PM
As far as the flight goes, the pilot is GOD, if you are told to shut off your phoen then do so at once!
jokesl3 Jan 29th 2010 11:32PM
Charles Schumer
Dorance Jan 29th 2010 11:37PM
Idiots will never see why rules are made and they especially see they are like
a cafeteria...choose what you want and leave the rest to others. Cell phones
like many other things are one of the most abused inventions of our life time.
I was an airline employee for 35 years and to explain the rules behind this
aviation rule would be of no purpose to this idiot and others like him. I will
be glad when cell phones are against the law while driving any vehicle and
when they are interferring with anyone elses comfort. I agree the man or
anyone else who stands up and causes interferance with any federal
regulation deserves jail time, very heavy fines, and banned from travelling
on this airline for a long period.
Geminijack Jan 29th 2010 11:38PM
He can always rent a row boat out of Normandy.