[jbjb]

Originally Posted by Man Eating Duck

Cell phones are already legitimately in use on many flights. Surprisingly, they don't fall down or find themselves heading for Timbuktu instead of Paris.

So you believe that the fact that there are many occasions when it doesn't cause a problem is sufficient to prove that it can never cause a problem?

I don't have the expertise to evaluate your second link,

This isn't aimed specifically at you, but it never ceases to amaze me that people who admit they have no expertise in this field still feel justified in pronouncing their uneducated opinion as fact.

That is not a specific incident, it's not even a report. It's a memo containing a requirement and an anecdote. The anecdote, which is not substantiated in any way, describes an incident where two events happened simultaneously, one of which happens *all the time*. As you know, correlation does not equal causation:

Correlation also clearly does not imply *lack* of causation. If you've been paying attention, you'll notice that I am *not* claiming proof of a causal link, I'm simply questioning the certainty of those who claim to know for sure there isn't one.

With regard to the incident in the linked article - I see no reason to doubt the veracity of that agency's reported incident. However, if you want more, have a look at this.

You conveniently forget the vast majority of flights where nothing happens, even though cell phones are surely active. It hate to rain on your parade (no, not really), but no logic, statistics or evidence support your claims.

What claims? Again, I'm not claiming that anything is proven, simply pointing out the fallacy of reasoning on the part of those who claim that, because they know of no evidence, there can't be any.

And now to the only point I want you to respond to:

Let's look at it this way: If this was a real safety risk, why exactly are you allowed to bring cell phones into the cabin at all? I can't even bring a bottle of shampoo because of safety, surely I should be denied bringing a device which can cause the plane to crash if I don't behave. Why can I keep it in my pocket then, with no one even confiscating my battery?

I regard the above paragraph as conclusive evidence that cell phones are not regarded a safety risk by anyone that matters,

In that case you set the bar for "conclusive evidence" very low.

This is all about uncertainty and acceptable levels of risk. Note that it's those who are claiming it *is* safe who are the ones making the bold assertions of certainty. The default "it's not fully understood" position is to err on the side of safety and turn off the devices.

/JB