- 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. - [Speaker] Introducing the ELSI-8, the world's smallest
electronic calculator by Sharp. Price tag to match. - But before we talk about calculators, I'd like to tell you a little bit about our sponsor, CleanMyMac. CleanMyMac is a product
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a seven day free trial. But now let's talk about calculators. (dramatic music) - [Speaker] Introducing the answer. - [Speaker] Power into the
eighties with solar power. - 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.
