- Okay, what's the deal with airplane mode?
Because you're telling me
that we put a man on the moon years ago.
- [Speaker] Well, one small step for man,
but I didn't get the second phrase.
- But if I try and use twitter.com on my phone,
somehow the plane might not be able to fly.
I mean, I definitely put my phone on airplane mode
because I look like this,
and that means being on your best
behavior when you get on a flight.
But like what happens if the person next
to me has their phone off airplane mode?
I just can't wrap my head around the fact
that a little device like this could cause such a big
problem with the plane.
These are the kinds of thoughts that I have minutes
before my flight takes off.
And then just before I can Google it,
well the plane takes off
and I have to put my phone on airplane mode,
but enough is enough.
I have decided to look into it.
And what I found was a story
that starts years before mobile things.
- [Speaker] In this schematic transformer, the primary.
(dramatic music)
- [Speaker] And off she goes,
from the loading ramp to the jet runway.
- [Speaker] Beautiful shoreline unfold.
- Thank you to our patrons for supporting the channel
and CleanMyMac for sponsoring a portion of this video.
The story of airplane mode starts in 1958
when the Civil Aeronautics Authority started to receive word
of portable electronic devices
causing some sort of interference.
The report was inconclusive,
but now the possibility of electronic interference existed.
So a notice was given out to air staff.
In the same year, the brand new FAA,
which is the federal,
FAA meaning,
which is the Federal Aviation Administration,
started to look into whether
or not this interference was something.
Apparently these claims started to be made
after some mid-size plane crashes,
including a famous one in 1956 with the Grand Canyon.
So they did some research and found
that some FM radios would cause interference
with navigational systems.
Now, none of this was ever cataclysmic.
Some reports show that the system
would basically put up a red flag saying
that the navigational system might be inaccurate,
which isn't really dangerous,
but is never a good idea when relying on safety mechanisms.
So in 1951, the FAA decided to ban FM radios.
Now, it wasn't all FM radios that were causing the problem,
but you couldn't really rely on everyone involved
to know which ones were which.
So a blanket ban was suitable here.
A few years later, they would make this ban permanent
alongside a list of approved electronic devices.
These electronics were medical devices
like pacemakers and hearing aids,
alongside other things that were proven not
to have interference like tape recorders.
They also started to test other types of transmitters
and receivers like portable TVs,
- ˆSpeaker] Transistor television
that plays anywhere without plugging in.
- Other types of communication devices
and other forms of radio.
- It's practical too.
- As early as 1964,
there seems like a general consensus is being formed.
Things that transmit or receive electromagnetic signals
are more likely to cause interference than
other types of technology.
By the way, all types of electronics do emit some level
of electromagnetic radiation.
It's just that if they aren't deliberately
electromagnetic radiation,
then it's usually pretty negligible.
Hence why pacemakers
and voice recorders are on the approved list,
whereas FM radios and that type of stuff aren't.
So that became the broad yardstick.
Things that deliberately emit electromagnetic radiation
are likely to be prohibited,
whereas things that just incidentally
emit electromagnetic radiation, are probably fine.
However, after this, the FAA basically decided we're not
getting paid enough to keep an up-to-date list
of what's approved
and what's not approved,
especially as new technology comes onto the scene.
So they wiped their hands of it.
The FAA basically told the airlines, it's up to you
to determine whether or not your fleet can withstand
electromagnetic interference and puts in place policies
according to your own tests.
So there you go.
If something transmits
or receives a signal, then there's a small chance
that there is a tiny bit of interference.
But if it doesn't transmit anything,
then it's probably fine.
And that would've been the end of the story
if technology stopped in 1966,
but then we invented the extremely dangerous
electronic calculator.
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- But before we talk about calculators,
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But now let's talk about calculators.
(dramatic music)
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- What's your phone number, Walter?
- [Calculator] 5550700.
- [Speaker] Master.
- [Speaker] Why if I'm calculating
- In 1973, the FAA decided
to put electronic calculators on the blanket approved list.
And this makes sense given
what we know about electromagnetic radiation.
General bits of technology like the calculator don't have
any possibility of causing electromagnetic interference.
Right?
Wrong.
Two years after this thing was put
on the blanket approved list,
the FAA decided to examine the evidence,
and this is what they found.
Tests showed the effect of portable electronic calculators
on navigation equipment varies
with different models in different aircraft.
However, they concluded that their own examination
of the evidence was inconclusive and conflicting.
So what do we know about calculators on aircraft?
Very little.
We know that some calculators maybe had some level
of interference on some aircraft,
but the evidence was inconclusive and conflicting.
But remember, the airlines can make their own rules.
Some airlines did ban electronic calculators on planes
and took a more conservative approach to all electronics,
whereas other airlines said,
this is fine and it probably is fine, like there's nothing.
It's a calculator.
But this became a growing trend
of conflicting and inconsistent rules
amongst different airlines.
And I feel like this history explains a lot
of why we're confused about
how important airplane mode is today.
It's part of a long history
of inconsistent airline policies across different airlines,
and this is why all of this has been
so confusing to learn about.
There is such inconsistency throughout history
of what different airlines were doing.
For example, because of this inconsistency,
electronics manufacturers started to lobby airlines in order
to make their own technology approved for use on planes.
I mean, one famous example of this is the Kindle.
It was a new type of device
and Amazon had a vested interest in having it on planes.
So they did their own tests
and promoted the fact that Kindles was safe for airplanes.
But because the airlines could make their own rules,
sometimes they had to be guided by public perception.
For example, in 1993, there were reports
that a plane started banking left
after a passenger turned on a CD player.
The FAA basically denies having any record of this,
but it was in the popular zeitgeist.
And as a result, a lot of airlines basically decided
to ban electronics for a short period of time after.
So in the eighties and nineties,
technology begins to progress.
People start using mobile phones and laptops,
and there's a lot of inconsistency over whether
or not you can use them on planes.
So where's the FAA in all of this?
Well, they're still making sure that things are safe,
presumably, but they have given the airlines a lot
of autonomy over making their own policies.
And I suspect that's because the concern
that the FAA has over electromagnetic
interference is quite small.
While there may be some inconclusive evidence
that some electromagnetic interference could cause some
problems with navigational systems,
it's definitely not catastrophic.
The FAA's stance on this is effectively only concerned
with takeoff and landing.
Takeoff and landing are the most dangerous
parts of any flight.
The FAA here has exercised a lot more caution.
Under 10,000 feet, the pilots have a lot less time to react
to any problems that could occur.
So reducing the amount of problems
that could occur is important.
Here, the policy around airplane mode is a lot more strict.
You have to have airplane mode.
Electromagnetic interference isn't going
to cause any cataclysmic problem with the aircraft,
but if there is a problem with the aircraft,
it's important to have all of the systems
as accurate as possible.
So given that we're on a flying tube,
it makes sense to be a lot more cautious.
But outside of that, as far as the FAA is concerned,
it's up to the airlines to do what they want.
Listen to this, "The idea that devices seemingly
as harmless as laptop computers
and FM radios might create chaos with aircraft systems
has generated extensive
and sometimes unsubstantiated coverage.
Lost in the uproar is the fact that more than 30 years
after the issue first arose,
there is still no conclusive scientific data
to either establish
or repudiate the notion that an aircraft filled
with personal electronic devices
might veer wildly off course."
So even after 30 years, there wasn't enough data
to conclude on whether or not electromagnetic interference
is actually gonna cause any problems.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that the chance
of an electromagnetic disruption
is greater than one in a million.
But reporting biases may lead pilots
to erroneously attribute incidents
to electromagnetic interference
that might actually result from pilot error
or mechanical malfunction.
And this is what I found.
There was a case where a phone caused a plane crash.
The pilot was on his phone.
It was initially attributed to the altimeter being disrupted
by the electromagnetic interference,
but it was later found that the altimeter was mechanical.
So electromagnetic interference couldn't have been the cause
and that the pilot was likely on his phone.
So can phones cause plane crashes?
Yeah, but not because of electromagnetic interference.
If you are literally on your phone, maybe.
The paper goes on to say that in any event,
it is virtually impossible
to recreate the conditions
that allegedly caused electromagnetic interference.
But the available data indicates that the chance
of electromagnetic interference
during a typical flight is statistically very small,
especially if passengers comply with airline policy
and devices are improper working order.
All of the incidents that blame electromagnetic interference
are incidental or anecdotal.
Boeing has this long list of like 75 different incidents
and none of them have a causation
between electromagnetic interference
and the incident in question.
It seems like the FAAs concern is completely covered
by their current policy
of banning technology under 10,000 feet.
The airlines don't wanna take a bold new stance
because they don't wanna be responsible
if an incident was to happen.
So what can I say for certain?
Not very much.
I can say that your phone, probably,
given all of the evidence I have,
isn't probably gonna cause an incident on your flight,
but I can't say that for certain
because the data isn't there yet
and no one's interested in researching it.
I might be totally wrong
and I'm missing some sort of source,
but I really don't think so.
So if the FAA policy is to do with under 10,000 feet,
why is it still airline policy
across all the major airlines
and the law in the US
and you know, basically every other country I looked at?
Well, it turns out
that the FAA isn't the only federal organization interested
in keeping the rule that way.
The FCC also has an interest in airplane mode,
and they don't care about airplane safety at all.
They're the FCC,
the Federal Communications something or other.
Well, it turns out that even if we don't need airplane mode
to protect people in the plane, we might need airplane mode
to protect people on the ground.
When a mobile phone has no signal, it emits radiation
until it reaches a cell tower.
If you're really far from a cell tower like on a plane,
the phone emits increasing levels of radiation
to connect to a tower.
Now, imagine a plane full of 600 phones searching
for a signal, all emitting maximum amounts of radiation.
That's a lot of radio interference in the airwaves.
And like we've established before,
this is likely not a problem
for the aircraft's navigational systems,
but cell towers can only handle a certain amount of traffic.
And in populated areas like cities
where bandwidth might be near capacity,
having 600 extra phones connect
to a tower can completely overwhelm the capacity.
Basically, this would mean
that a plane could accidentally become a radio jammer
and cause issues for civilians on the ground.
Now imagine not only one plane doing that,
but all the planes in the sky.
It's actually a slightly bigger issue than it seems,
because on the ground, a cell phone might connect
to one or two towers in the local area.
In the sky, a cell phone has a bigger range than it seems,
and while flying, it can jam up a lot more bandwidth
than it would ever on the ground.
So while the jury's still out on airplane mode
and airplane safety, I'm pretty confident that the reason
that we still have airplane mode
is that it helps protect the global cell phone network.
Now, there are discussions in the EU
and elsewhere about trying to activate
4G and 5G on airplanes,
but that's using a technology called picocells.
And interestingly, it's something
that the US are just not interested in right now.
For various technical reasons
that I'm not really gonna get into now,
it seems like if we are gonna get 4 and 5G on airplanes,
it probably won't be in the US
and it'll be in the EU and places like the Middle East.
But if we're going to all this trouble for cell service,
why can't we still use Wi-Fi on flights?
The way Wi-Fi works is actually pretty simple.
Your phone connects to a Wi-Fi router on the plane.
It's the same type of router you would use in your home.
That Wi-Fi connects to an antenna which is on the plane.
The antenna is connecting
to a cell phone tower on the ground
or a satellite in the sky.
Basically, airplane Wi-Fi is just a massive Wi-Fi hotspot,
but the way it works is slightly different,
depending on if you are flying over land or sea.
Over land, the plane can connect
to the same cell phone network that your phone uses for 4G.
However, overseas the plane needs to connect to satellites
that are sometimes less reliable.
This distinction between land
and sea can explain why free Wi-Fi
is so prevalent in US domestic flights.
It's much easier when 99% of flights are done over land,
whereas in Europe and the rest of the world,
you're flying over more oceans and seas.
So it's harder to provide reliable Wi-Fi.
And if you're wondering why the Wi-Fi doesn't cause the same
interference as your cellular network,
the Wi-Fi just doesn't go that far.
I'm upstairs and don't get Wi-Fi, let alone 30,000 feet.
The airplane's antennas are specifically designed to connect
to the network while in flight,
whereas your phone is just wildly trying
to emit radiation in order to connect
to any cell phone network.
So it causes a lot more interference
than the planes antennas would.
So do we really need airplane mode?
Well, we don't have a lot of evidence to say
that phones were ever dangerous on a flight,
but we don't have enough research to say
that they are a hundred percent harmless.
And given the fact that you are flying in a metal tube
during takeoff and landing, I would say yes,
you need airplane mode.
Even if the electromagnetic
interference is negligible,
if there was an incident on the flight,
I would want the pilots to have the most accurate
tools available to them.
But if you wanna rebel
and turn off airplane mode in the middle of your flight,
it's probably not dangerous for you.
However, you may be disrupting the cell phone towers
on the ground beneath you.
And if enough people do that,
you could be disrupting someone trying
to make an emergency phone call or ordering sushi.
So it could be dangerous to someone.
And besides all the technological reasons you might want
turn on airplane mode, you do have
to turn on airplane mode because it's the law.
And breaking the law on a flight is the fastest way
to get put on a watch list.
Also, this is kind of a side note,
but having your phone emits electromagnetic radiation
to its maximum capability for the whole flight is pretty bad
for your battery life.
And listen, if you're brown,
just turn on airplane mode and live a happy life.