Posted on 05/27/2005 11:50:32 PM PDT by El Conservador
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Allowing airline passengers to use personal cell phones during flights could help potential hijackers coordinate an attack or trigger a bomb smuggled on board, U.S. security officials have told regulators.
The U.S. Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation late on Thursday outlined the potential dangers associated with allowing cell phone use during plane flights, as the Federal Communications Commission has proposed if safety issues can be resolved.
The Federal Aviation Administration would also have to approve any rule change.
At present personal cell phones and other communication devices must be switched off at takeoff, landing and for the duration of commercial flights because it could potentially interfere with the operation of the plane.
While some have told the FCC they worry about an increase in loud, irritating chatter on flights, law enforcement officials were focused on preventing a possible attack.
"The uniqueness of service to and from an aircraft in flight presents the possibility that terrorists and other criminals could use air-to-ground communications systems to coordinate an attack," they said in comments to the FCC.
During Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, passengers and crew on the hijacked planes used cell phones as well as phones embedded in the seats to call for help and talk to loved ones.
If the cell phone ban were lifted, law enforcement authorities worry an attacker could use the device to coordinate with accomplices on the ground, on another flight or seated elsewhere on the same plane.
If wireless phones are to be allowed in-flight, the law enforcement agencies urged that users be required to register their location on a plane before placing a call and that officials have fast access to call identification data.
"There is a short window of opportunity in which action can be taken to thwart a suicidal terrorist hijacking or remedy other crisis situations on board an aircraft," the agencies said in the comments.
The security officials also worried that personal phone use could increase the risk of a remotely-controlled bomb being used to bring down an airliner. But they acknowledged simple radio-controlled explosive devices have been used in the past on planes and the first line of defense was security checks at airports.
Still, "the departments believe that the new possibilities generated by airborne passenger connectivity must be recognized," they said.
MORE AIR RAGE?
In other filings with FCC, several flight attendants worried that allowing cell phones to be used on planes could make their jobs harder during an emergency and lead to further cases of air rage by passengers.
"The introduction of cell phone use in the cabin will not only increase tension among passengers, it will compromise flight attendants' ability to maintain order in an emergency," said American Airlines flight attendant Joyce Berngard.
The possibility of air rage incidents also raised concerns among law enforcement who feared that it could complicate the job of armed air marshals disguised as passengers who are deployed on thousands of U.S. airline flights each week.
"The first and overriding priority of federal law enforcement on board aircraft is to ensure the safety of the aircraft and the flight," the law enforcement officials said.
Make sure they have a "beep" feature that notifies you when someone keys a radio on your channel/code
And any clown on the ground with a CB and an illegal linear amplifier will trigger your system before you wanted to... uncool. A little more discrimination than that would be needed.
Um, excuse me, but if you've got a bunch of people on a plane who are going to hijack it, theres a bigger problem on board than their use of cell phones.
Oh, and by the way... If you ban the use of cell phones on airplanes, I'm sure that the terrorists will see the signs and say to each other, "Muhammed! This is terrible! We must call off the hijacking because we're not allowed to use our cell phones! If only they hadn't outlawed their use! We will have to go think of something else."
Mark
That would only be true for analog cell phones and older systems. Powering up your cell phone on a plane cannot harm a modern network. Plenty of processing power in BTSs and VLRs to hand you (and everyone else in airplanes) off at 500mph, no problem. Your call quality would suck, but there is no problem with the network being able to handle it.
Law enforcers and makers never missed a chance to "make" a new law or regulation that will prevent all evil from happening.
50% of GUNS - yes, big freakin metal guns - placed in hand luggage and screened at the gate make it through without any effort to make it hard to find them, according to tests the TSA used to run (they solved the problem by not running the tests anymore).
You could get anything into checked luggage. Airline security is a complete joke. The only reason an airliner hasn't been blown up is that nobody has tried.
The code featue on the FRS would make the odds of that extremely low. Same number of channels, but your beeper only goes off when another user of a compatible set sends the right code.
My next trip to Europe will be a hiked voyage.
If you cant carry on a nail clipper or a cigarette lighter, why should we allow passengers to have cell phones? It might be ok to allow cell phones only in checked baggage though, so a complete ban might not be necessary.
Screeners or sleepers?
I went through a security point once (over a decade ago) with a 3 foot long cardboard box containing a metal table, about 50 feet of wire, and a hotplate. The puzzlement on the face of the folks there (they were more pleasant then) was hilarious. But they let it go through when they asked if it was a hotplate and I said yes.
Walking might be a bit much for a business trip from New York to Los Angeles
Ok, no cell phones should be permitted in checked baggage either.
See you on the trails!
WOuld you like to make radio kits illeal, too. How about the Sony Playstation Portable, with built-in wireless networking? Or the WiFi in every laptop on the plane? Or the Nintendo Game Boy DS? Confiscate all of those along with the nail clippers?
However, the pilot has no defense against a cell phone. If you want to make a call, you can wait until the flight is over, or else just use airline provided cell phones. perhaps we can have some sort of check in system for cell phones, so that they can be put in checked baggage, but only AFTER their batteries have been removed.
Didn't you mean the Land of Cucaracha?
Just where is that woman these days? Last time I noticed she was up to her eyeballs in an embezzlement scandle or something.
i never did understand why they allowed the use of cell phones on planes.
drivers of cars are another problem. i was rear ended by a teen on a cell phone.
yesterday, i and a half-dozen drivers in a left turn lane were denied the use of the signal by a guy on his cell phone who forgot to move forward. meanwhile the light turned red.
But use of air sickness bags will soar.
Remember, there was an anthrax attack already on the way.
That's because if they miss a chance to prevent an evil they should have foreseen, you'll never let them hear the end of it.
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