Reply #31: Laws that some choose to ignore. [View All]

[DulceDecorum]

Signals emitted by the mobile phone interfere with Air Traffic Control (ATC) signals,
undermining the safety of the flight.

Very very frequently, Air Traffic Control ask the pilots to turn off their transponders.
This usually happens in high density traffic often found near airports
where the ATC screens become overloaded with data.
Now if THE ONE SINGLE TRANSPONDER PER PLANE is causing overload,
what of the multitude of mobile phones on-board?

TITLE 47--TELECOMMUNICATION
Sec. 22.925 Prohibition on airborne operation of cellular telephones.
Cellular telephones installed in or carried aboard airplanes, balloons or any other type of aircraft must not be operated while such aircraft are airborne (not touching the ground). When any aircraft leaves the ground, all cellular telephones on board that aircraft must be turned off. The following notice must be posted on or near each cellular telephone installed in any aircraft:
``The use of cellular telephones while this aircraft is airborne is prohibited by FCC rules, and the violation of this rule could result in suspension of service and/or a fine. The use of cellular telephones while this aircraft is on the ground is subject to FAA regulations.''

Use of Portable Electronic Devices Aboard Aircraft - FAA AC 91.21-1
1. PURPOSE. This advisory circular (AC) provides aircraft
operators with information and guidance for assistance in the
compliance of Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) Section 91.21.
Because of the potential for portable electronic devices to
interfere with aircraft communications and navigation equipment,
FAR Section 91.21 was established. It prohibits the operation
of portable electronic devices aboard U.S.-registered civil
aircraft, operated by the holder of an air carrier operating
certificate or an operating certificate, or any other aircraft
while operating under instrument flight rules. The rule permits
use of specified portable electronic devices and other devices
that the operator of the aircraft has determined will not cause
interference with the safe operation of the aircraft in which it
is operated.
http://ntl.bts.gov/DOCS/91-21_1.html

TO Kid,
in order to comply with this regulation,
YOU, the operator of the plane
MUST PROVE that the device does NOT interfere with the safety
and YOU, the operator of the plane,
MUST NOT allow intentional transmitters such as cell-phones to be used while the plane is in flight.

In other words, NO CELL-PHONES can be used aboard any US plane in US airspace while that plane is in flight. However, we are not sure if that includes the most famous plane of them all.....

At 10:41, with Air Force One headed toward Jacksonville to meet jets scrambled to give the presidential jet its own air cover, Mr. Cheney was urging Mr. Bush to avoid a quick return to Washington. He wanted the president at Offutt Air Force Base outside Omaha, which he knew from his days as secretary of defense had an extraordinarily sophisticated strategic command communications center.
At 11:45, the plane landed at Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport, La., an intermediate stop. A WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL ASKED THE SMALL POOL OF REPORTERS IN THE BACK OF THE PLANE TO KEEP THEIR CELL-PHONES OFF BECAUSE THE SIGNALS COULD ALLOW SOMEONE TO IDENTIFY THE PLANE'S POSITION.
White House officials told reporters that they could say only that the president was at "an unidentified location in the United States," a requirement that was lifted after reporters learned that local television stations had already reported the landing.
Mr. Bush appeared before the reporters for just two minutes, declaring, "Freedom itself was attacked this morning by a faceless coward."
http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline/2001/nyt091601b.html

Mr Bush by now knew the horror of what was happening, but not the full scale of it. At 9.36, just west of Cleveland, United 93 made an abrupt unscheduled turn and began heading south-east towards Washington DC.
Seven minutes later, as Mr Bush, his entourage and the accompanying press corps were boarding Air Force One, American Flight 77 swooped low over the suburbs of northern Virginia and slammed into the Pentagon.
<snip>
At 9.45 the Secret Service ordered the complete evacuation of the White House - United Flight 93 was still airborne and heading towards Washington. No one knew, or knows, for sure what its target was, but the obvious candidates were the Capitol buiding, Camp David - or the White House itself.
<snip>
Air Force One lifted off from Sarasota at 9.57. A few minutes earlier, the South Tower of the World Trade Centre had collapsed. It was unclear whether anyone on Air Force One - including the pilot - knew where the Boeing 747 was headed. "The object seemed to be simply to get the President airborne and out of the way," said an administration official.
<snip>
At 10.06, as Air Force One was still climbing, United Flight 93 nose-dived into a field near the rural Pennsylvania town of Shanksville, killing everyone on board. The passengers, it now seems clear, had rushed the hi-jackers and precipitated the crash. In doing so, they may have saved the Capitol buiding, or the White House itself, from possible suicide attack. They lost their lives and, in doing so, almost certainly saved many more. Air Force One was told the news.
For much of the next two hours the presidential jet appeared to be going nowhere. The journalists on board - all of whom were barred from communicating with their offices - sensed that the plane was flying in big, slow circles.
Mr Bush was able to call his wife, Laura, who had been on Capitol Hill waiting to speak to the Senate education committee when the attacks began. She and the couple's twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna, were now in secure locations.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/12/16/wbush16.xml

REPORTERS TRAVELLING WITH BUSH reported that some passengers from Air Force One were left behind at Barksdale when he departed at 1:37 p.m. The entourage was slimmed down for safety, officials said.
White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said, “The president is looking forward to returning to Washington. He understand at a time like this, caution must be taken.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/articles/bush091101.htm

Press Briefing to the Pool By Ari Fleischer
Aboard Air Force One
1:47 P.M. EDT
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
September 11, 2001

Q WHO IS WITH HIM ON THE PLANE?
MR. FLEISCHER: Chief of Staff Card, Karl Rove, Dan Bartlett, myself, Gordon.
Q -- THAT'S IT?
MR. FLEISCHER: YES, AS I INDICATED, WE'VE PARED EVERYTHING BACK so
that we can ?
Q And does the President feel hunted or in jeopardy? I mean, he is kind of trying to stay out of ?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President is looking forward to returning to Washington. He understands at a time like this, caution must be taken; and he wants to get to back to Washington.
Q What's he doing right now?
MR. FLEISCHER: He's talking to people on the phone from his cabin.
Q In his cabin?
MR. FLEISCHER: Yes.
Q Thank you for bringing us whatever you can, in terms of information on what he's doing.
END 1:51 P.M. EDT
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010911-6.html

See,
the non-existent pool of reporters in the back was forced to switch off their cell-phones,
and nobody was allowed to call the press from Air Force One
when it was under credible attack on September 11, 2001 and nobody could track Flight 77 or Flight 93
although the passengers had their cell-phones on and were making calls from them
and you cannot spell the word LIAR with using the letters ARI.