American Airlines pilot Captain Steve has revealed why passengers are sometimes instructed to fully switch off their electronic devices rather than just place them into Airplane Mode
If you’ve previously flown by plane, you’ve probably heard cabin crew staff or the captain telling you to switch off your mobile devices. While many remain doubtful about the importance of this guidance, an airline pilot has clarified why passengers receive these instructions occasionally.
American Airlines’ Captain Steve (recognised on social media as @CaptainSteeeve) posted on TikTok responding to one of his followers who questioned why she’d recently been instructed to switch her mobile phone off entirely rather than simply activating Airplane Mode. “There’s a good reason for that,” the pilot replied.
He expanded on the situation: “If you are in bad weather and you are going down to minimums, many of their airlines have in their operating procedures to make a PA that you are turn everything off in the back of the plane.”
But what’s the reasoning? “It’s so there isn’t any possibility that there’s any sort of interference with the navigation equipment,” Captain Steve highlighted.
Regarding activating Airplane Mode, he noted this advice originated in the 1990s when mobile phones started becoming widely owned.
“Back then they did some tests and there was some indication that all of those devices in the back of the aeroplane – that long metal tube you’re in – could cause some interference to the navigation,” Captain Steve explained.
However, he proceeded to suggest that above 10,000 feet it’s “not really that big of a deal”, while at lower altitudes during landing preparations, the situation differs considerably.
“You want to be lined up precisely on that runway and if you’re in bad weather and can’t see out until the last second when the plane is about to touch down, you don’t want to have a surprise when you break out from the clouds,” Captain Steve elaborated.
Consequently, it is crucial for pilots to minimise any interference with their navigation equipment.
“So when the weather is bad, let’s say they are going to do an auto-land – what’s called a ‘cat 3 landing’ – into fog or bad weather, the pilot may come on and say, ‘Folks, I need you to turn everything off’,” the pilot added.
He concluded by emphasising: “If you hear that on the PA from the captain, absolutely go and turn everything off. It’s very important that you do that.”
Responding to the video, one TikTok user remarked: “The sad thing about all this is that we’re depending on all the rest of the people in that aircraft to actually do the right thing and listen that’s scary.”
Another individual highlighted: “If my $400 iPad can interfere with the avionics and control systems of your $170M aircraft… that’s a problem. They probably can’t, but just the fact that it’s a consideration is a problem.”
A third commenter, however, remained unconvinced. “The early analogue phones caused interference occasionally,” they wrote. “The new digital smart phones cause zero interference.”
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