tag:theconversation.com,2011:/nz/topics/faa-62608/articlesFAA – The Conversation2023-01-12T21:13:47Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1977542023-01-12T21:13:47Z2023-01-12T21:13:47ZWhat is the FAA’s NOTAM? An aviation expert explains how the critical safety system works<p><em>Late in the evening of Jan. 10, 2023, an important digital system known as NOTAM run by the Federal Aviation Administration <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/01/11/1148340708/faa-notam-ground-stop-flight-delay">went offline</a>. The FAA was able to continue getting necessary information to pilots overnight using a phone-based backup, but the stopgap couldn’t keep up with the morning rush of flights, and on Jan. 11, 2022, the FAA grounded all commercial flights in the U.S. In total, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/01/11/1148340708/faa-notam-ground-stop-flight-delay">nearly 7,000 flights</a> were canceled. <a href="https://aviation.osu.edu/people/strzempkowski.1">Brian Strzempkowksi</a> is the interim director of the Center for Aviation Studies at The Ohio State University and a commercial pilot, flight instructor and dispatcher. He explains what the NOTAM system is and why planes can’t fly if the system goes down.</em></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504319/original/file-20230112-60827-1gx11f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A number of planes line up for takeoff on a runway." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504319/original/file-20230112-60827-1gx11f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504319/original/file-20230112-60827-1gx11f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=200&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504319/original/file-20230112-60827-1gx11f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=200&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504319/original/file-20230112-60827-1gx11f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=200&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504319/original/file-20230112-60827-1gx11f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504319/original/file-20230112-60827-1gx11f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504319/original/file-20230112-60827-1gx11f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pilots must check the NOTAM system before takeoff so that they know about any situations that may affect safety.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:6_planes_in_one_photo!_United_Airlines_Boeing_787,_747,_777,_WOW_Airbus_A330_takeoff,_SWA_737,_United_CRJ_landing_SFO_runway_28_L_and_R_(30480576501).jpg#/media/File:6_planes_in_one_photo!_United_Airlines_Boeing_787,_747,_777,_WOW_Airbus_A330_takeoff,_SWA_737,_United_CRJ_landing_SFO_runway_28_L_and_R_(30480576501).jpg">Bill Abbott/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What is NOTAM?</h2>
<p>Aviation is full of acronyms, and Notice to Air Missions, or NOTAM, is one acronym that pilots learn early on in their training. A NOTAM is quite simply a message that is disseminated to flight crews of every aircraft in the U.S.</p>
<p>The NOTAM system is a computer network run by the Federal Aviation Administration that provides real-time updates to crews about situations relating to weather, infrastructure, ground conditions or anything else that may <a href="https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak/03_phak_ch1.pdf">affect the safety of flight</a>. Trained professionals – like air traffic controllers, airport managers, airport operations personnel and FAA personnel in charge of national airspace infrastructure – can access the system and enter any information they need to share broadly.</p>
<p>Pilots, air traffic controllers and anyone else who needs to know about flying conditions can access the NOTAM system and make appropriate changes to planned flights. It’s similar to checking the traffic on your phone or on the local news before you head to work in the morning. A traffic report will inform you of potential hazards or backups on the roadways that may lead you take a different route to work.</p>
<h2>What’s in the NOTAM system and how is it used?</h2>
<p>NOTAMs are issued for a wide range of reasons. Some of the notices are good to know but don’t affect a flight – such as personnel mowing grass alongside a runway or a crane working on a building next to the airport. Others are more critical, such as a runway being closed because of snow, ice or damage, forcing a plane to take off or land on a different runway. Changes in access to airspace are also logged with a NOTAM. For example, airspace is always closed above the president and when he or she travels; a NOTAM will alert pilots to changes in airspace closures.</p>
<p>Pilots <a href="https://pilotweb.nas.faa.gov/PilotWeb/">review these NOTAMs</a> during their preflight briefings. Generally this is done digitally using a computer, but pilots and air traffic controllers can also access the system by calling flight service briefers, who can share <a href="https://www.1800wxbrief.com/Website/home;jsessionid=624B2EEA87E48B2E1DF67CB0B791E054?desktop=true#!/phone-numbers-quick-steps">live weather and NOTAM information</a>. Airline pilots also rely on their dispatchers to relay any relevant NOTAMs not only before but also during the flight. </p>
<p>The NOTAMs themselves use a lot of abbreviations and are often cryptic to nonaviation folks, but a small amount of text <a href="https://www.notams.faa.gov/downloads/contractions.pdf">can carry a lot of information</a>. Hundreds of different acronyms can convey a range of information, from taxiway closures to certain types of airport lighting being out of service to a notice that some pavement markings may be obscured.</p>
<p>But not all NOTAMs are straightforward. I remember once seeing a notice from an airport alerting pilots that a fire department was conducting a controlled burn of a house nearby.</p>
<h2>Why can’t you fly if the NOTAM system is down?</h2>
<p>The Federal Aviation Authority requires flight crews to <a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-I/subchapter-F/part-91/subpart-B/subject-group-ECFRe4c59b5f5506932/section-91.103">review NOTAMs before every flight</a> for safety reasons. Without access to this information, a plane cannot legally depart, because there may be an unknown hazard ahead. </p>
<p>As an example, a pilot departing Seattle to fly to Miami would need to know that the Miami airport is open, that the runways are clear and that all the navigational sources – like GPS signals and ground-based navigation antennas – that a pilot may use while in the air are working. Theoretically, they could call the Miami airport and ask, and then call the person who oversees every navigational aid on their route, but that would take a lot of time. A much more efficient way to gather this information before and during a flight is to use the NOTAM system. </p>
<p>At the end of the day, the NOTAM system is about safety. When the system is down, pilots can’t fly as safely. It is for good reason that planes don’t go anywhere unless the NOTAM system is up and running.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197754/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brian Strzempkowski does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Notices to Air Mission system failed on Jan. 10, 2023, leading to thousands of canceled flights. The system is where all important safety information for pilots and dispatchers gets posted.Brian Strzempkowski, Interim Director, Center for Aviation Studies, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1753062022-01-25T13:28:14Z2022-01-25T13:28:14ZHow 5G puts airplanes at risk – an electrical engineer explains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442368/original/file-20220124-13-p8az99.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1563%2C875&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The FAA raised concerns that new, full-speed 5G cellphone services near airports could interfere with aircraft operations.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/44073224@N04/28345407183/">Bernal Saborio/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>New high-speed cellphone services have raised concerns of interference with aircraft operations, particularly as aircraft are landing at airports. The Federal Aviation Administration has <a href="https://www.faa.gov/5g">assured Americans that most commercial aircraft are safe</a>, and AT&T and Verizon have agreed to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/01/18/1073859389/verizon-att-5g-rollout-delay-airports-airlines-faa">hold off on installing their new cellphone antennas</a> near airports for six months. But the problem has not been entirely resolved.</p>
<p>Concerns began when the U.S. government <a href="https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-370267A1.pdf">auctioned</a> part of the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/19/tech/c-band-5g-att-verizon-rollout/index.html">C-band spectrum</a> to wireless carriers in 2021 for US$81 billion. The carriers are using C-band spectrum to <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-5g-an-electrical-engineer-explains-173196">provide 5G</a> service at full speed, 10 times the speed of 4G networks.</p>
<p>The C-band spectrum is close to the frequencies used by key electronics that aircraft rely on to land safely. Here’s why that can be a problem.</p>
<h2>Keeping order on the spectrum</h2>
<p>Wireless signals are carried by radio waves. The radio spectrum ranges from 3 hertz to 3,000 gigahertz and is part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The portion of the radio spectrum that carries the signals from your phone and other wireless devices is <a href="https://www.ctia.org/news/what-is-spectrum-a-brief-explainer">20 kilohertz to 300 gigahertz</a>.</p>
<p>If two wireless signals in the same area use the same frequency, you get garbled noise. You hear this when you are midway between two radio stations using the same or similar frequency bands to send their information. The signals get garbled and sometimes you hear one station, at other times the other, all mixed with a healthy dose of noise. </p>
<p>Therefore, in the U.S., the use of these frequency bands is tightly regulated by the Federal Communications Commission to ensure that radio stations, wireless carriers and other organizations are assigned “lanes,” or frequency spectra, to use in an orderly fashion.</p>
<h2>Bouncing radio waves off the ground</h2>
<p>Modern airplanes use altimeters, which calculate the time it takes for a signal to bounce back from the ground to determine a plane’s altitude. These altimeters are a vital part of automatic landing systems that are especially useful in cases where there is low visibility. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442379/original/file-20220124-23335-w6fct0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A hand on an aircraft yoke in front of a multicolor display panel" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442379/original/file-20220124-23335-w6fct0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442379/original/file-20220124-23335-w6fct0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442379/original/file-20220124-23335-w6fct0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442379/original/file-20220124-23335-w6fct0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442379/original/file-20220124-23335-w6fct0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442379/original/file-20220124-23335-w6fct0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442379/original/file-20220124-23335-w6fct0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The radio altimeter in an aircraft tells the pilot how far off the ground the aircraft is.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/AustraliaMalaysiaPlane/6fb7b6c1d681451e988f5f9efad4205b/photo">AP Photo/Rob Griffith</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So, if an altimeter interprets a signal from a wireless carrier as the rebounded signal from the ground, it may think that the ground is closer than it is and prematurely try to lower the landing gear and do the other maneuvers that are needed to land an aircraft. If interference with wireless carrier signals corrupts and garbles the altimeter’s radio signals, the altimeter may not recognize the rebounded signal and thus be unable to figure out how close to the ground the plane is.</p>
<p>[<em>Understand new developments in science, health and technology, each week.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?nl=science&source=inline-science-understand">Subscribe to The Conversation’s science newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>The portions of the radio frequency spectrum used by airplanes and cellphone carriers are different. The problem is that airplane altimeters use the 4.2 to 4.4 gigahertz range, while the recently sold – and previously unused – C-band spectrum for wireless carriers ranges from 3.7 to 3.98 gigahertz. It turns out the 0.22 gigahertz difference between the signals may not be quite enough to be absolutely sure that a cellphone carrier signal will not be mistaken for or corrupt an altimeter’s signal.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442380/original/file-20220124-27-n2x6kx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Four vertical rectangular devices mounted on the corner of a roof of a building with a church spire in the background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442380/original/file-20220124-27-n2x6kx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442380/original/file-20220124-27-n2x6kx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442380/original/file-20220124-27-n2x6kx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442380/original/file-20220124-27-n2x6kx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442380/original/file-20220124-27-n2x6kx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442380/original/file-20220124-27-n2x6kx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442380/original/file-20220124-27-n2x6kx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Full-speed 5G signals like those in services that wireless carriers are currently rolling out might interfere with aircraft altimeters.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/VirusOutbreak5GConspiracyTheories/71c36ff2fca14b4baf1ee83fda44af00/photo">AP Photo/Alastair Grant</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Steering clear of trouble – for now</h2>
<p>The telecommunication industry has argued that the gap of 0.22 gigahertz is enough and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/why-are-airlines-worried-about-5g-f908b6eff8551b580dfd111029c5be2d">there will be no interference</a>. The airline industry has been <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/01/07/1071409710/airlines-are-concerned-5g-wireless-service-may-affect-the-ability-to-land-planes">more cautious</a>. Even if the risk is very small, I believe the consequences of a plane crash are enormous.</p>
<p>Who is correct? The chances of such interference are very small, but the truth is that there isn’t much data to say that such interference will never happen. Whether there will be interference depends on the receivers in the altimeters and their sensitivity. In my view, there is no way to ensure that such stray interfering signals will never reach altimeters. </p>
<p>If the altimeters can register the stray signals as noise and filter them out, then they can function correctly. Upgrading aircraft altimeters <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/22/tech/5g-airlines-crisis-what-happened/index.html">is a costly proposition</a>, however, and it’s not clear who would pay the cost.</p>
<p>The FAA has been testing altimeters and <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2022/01/airline-ceos-make-u-turn-now-say-5g-isnt-a-big-problem-for-altimeters/">clearing ones that can be relied on</a> in the near future. AT&T and Verizon have agreed to not put up 5G transmitters and receivers near the 50 largest airports for six months while a solution is being worked out. This has averted a major crisis in the near term, but it isn’t a permanent solution. </p>
<p>Moreover, regional airlines and rural airports <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/20/business/faa-5g-airliner-approvals/index.html">remain at risk of interference</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175306/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Prasenjit Mitra works with Remcom Inc. He does not receive any funding from them. </span></em></p>Airplanes use radio waves to determine how far off the ground they are. New 5G cellphone services come close to the same frequencies the airplanes use. Here’s how that can be a problem.Prasenjit Mitra, Professor of Information Sciences and Technology, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1140512019-03-25T20:52:36Z2019-03-25T20:52:36ZBoeing is doing crisis management all wrong – here’s what a company needs to do to restore the public’s trust<p>In a crisis, time is not on your side. </p>
<p>A crisis creates a vacuum, an informational void that gets filled one way or another. The longer a company or other organization at the center of the crisis waits to communicate, the more likely that void will be filled by critics.</p>
<p>That’s exactly what’s happening to Boeing.</p>
<p>On March 10, Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302 <a href="https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/ethiopian-airlines-plane-crash/index.html">crashed outside Addis Ababa shortly after takeoff</a>, killing all 157 passengers on board. This was the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/asia/live-news/lion-air-plane-crash-updates-intl/index.html">second Boeing 737 Max</a> to crash in fewer than four months, putting the total death toll at almost 350 people.</p>
<p>I’ve been both a manager and teacher of <a href="http://prosintraining.com/about/">crisis communications</a> for more than a decade. One thing I know for sure is that in crises in which there’s loss of life, it’s important to be compassionate, empathetic and careful. </p>
<p>However, in the two days after the Ethiopian Air crash, Boeing made crisis communications missteps that may have a long-term effect on its reputation and credibility.</p>
<h2>Too little, too late</h2>
<p>The key problem with Boeing’s approach is that its response was initially too defensive, slow and passive, suggesting a lack of openness and accountability.</p>
<p>For two days, <a href="https://boeing.mediaroom.com/news-releases-statements?item=130403">Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg insisted</a> the 737 Max planes were safe, even as country after country <a href="https://www.apnews.com/64698c6e79be4e6ca109f9c9d3e5e86a">grounded the aircraft</a>. Then on March 13 when the Federal Aviation Administration <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/canada-grounds-boeing-737-max-8-leaving-us-as-last-major-user-of-plane/2019/03/13/25ac2414-459d-11e9-90f0-0ccfeec87a61_story.html">eventually followed suit</a>, Boeing <a href="https://boeing.mediaroom.com/news-releases-statements?item=130404">again maintained</a> that its planes were safe. </p>
<p>But other than these statements and <a href="https://twitter.com/BoeingCEO">two tweets from Muilenburg</a>, Boeing’s leadership has been silent.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222805535_Apologies_and_public_relations_crises_at_Chrysler_Toshiba_and_Volvo">Silence is passive</a> and suggests that an organization is neither in control nor trying to take control of a situation. Silence allows others to frame the issues and control the narrative. </p>
<p>As a result, Boeing has found itself playing <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/boeing-is-in-crisis-is-it-still-a-good-investment/2019/03/15/3375bd54-44e8-11e9-90f0-0ccfeec87a61_story.html">defense to a storyline</a> that suggests the company was more interested in profits than people in the rush to produce an aircraft that accounts <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/13/737-max-groundings-put-a-major-source-of-boeings-revenue-at-risk-wall-street-warns.html">for about a third of its revenue</a>.</p>
<p>That narrative is being pushed by other <a href="https://twitter.com/flyethiopian/status/1108700486016946178/photo/1">airlines</a>, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/03/18/704373869/seattle-times-questions-certification-process-of-boeings-737-max">media</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/23/business/boeing-737-max-crash.html">employees</a> and airplane safety advocates like <a href="https://twitter.com/Captsully/status/1108139085485539329">Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger</a>. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1108139085485539329"}"></div></p>
<h2>Being proactive</h2>
<p>Boeing could have adopted a proactive approach, such as by taking the initiative to ground its own planes.</p>
<p>Instead, Boeing hesitated, wasn’t transparent and didn’t shoulder any responsibility for what had happened, leaving it to airlines, countries and regulators to ground the 737 Max. </p>
<p>According to crisis communications scholar Timothy Coombs, <a href="https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/ongoing-crisis-communication/book245663">corporate openness</a> is defined by a company’s availability to the media, willingness to disclose information and honesty. Boeing failed in all three regards.</p>
<p>And the <a href="https://boeing.mediaroom.com/news-releases-statements?item=130404">few statements</a> it has issued are chock-full of platitudes – such as “safety is a core value” – and lack meaningful information. In its statement after the FAA grounded the 737 Max, Boeing suggested it was complying “out of an abundance of caution.” But Boeing didn’t have a choice. The decision was made. </p>
<p>Boeing is now on the defensive and, going forward, will have to counter the damaging narrative circulating in the court of public opinion. It has its work cut out for it. Research shows that people <a href="https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-14467729/prepare-for-business-related-crises">are quick to believe the worst about organizations</a>, which feeds negative speculation.</p>
<h2>Turbulence ahead</h2>
<p>The challenge Boeing faces is serious. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/11/business/737-grounding-airplane.html">Many of its planes</a> continue to be grounded, which could cost Boeing as much as US$5 billion, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/13/investing/boeing-max-737-grounding/index.html">early estimates</a>. Boeing has paused delivery on the 737 Max and orders for future planes are at risk – it recently <a href="https://interestingengineering.com/boeing-receives-first-public-order-cancellation-request-for-737-max-8">received its first public cancellation</a>. The company has about 4,500 of the airplanes on order. </p>
<p>Boeing does have one thing in its favor. The company has <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/12/politics/boeing-capitol-hill-lobbying/index.html">built strong relationships</a> with government officials in Washington over the years. </p>
<p>But those relationships, which could be useful and shield the company to some degree, are now under stress as <a href="https://www.registerguard.com/news/20190321/defazio-pledges-full-inquiry-into-boeing-737-max-crashes">Congress</a> and the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/20/business/boeing-justice-department-subpoenas/index.html">Justice Department</a> investigate how Boeing got the 737 Max certified to fly. </p>
<h2>Turning things around</h2>
<p>So is it too late to turn things around? </p>
<p>I believe it isn’t, but Boeing must immediately change its strategy from passive and closed to active and open. Rather than wait for lawmakers or investigators to get to the bottom of things, which could be devastating for Boeing, the airplane manufacturer should collect all the relevant information and disclose as much as possible, however damaging. </p>
<p>Boeing should be able to answer questions like what happened, who is responsible and why did it happen. The best way to demonstrate its commitment to safety is not with platitudes but concrete actions that reveal openness and accountability. <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Crisis-Communication-Theory-and-Practice/Zaremba/p/book/9780765620521">Research has shown</a> that transparency and honesty are key to effective communication in a crisis. </p>
<p>Ultimately, the company needs to show that the lives of passengers on its planes are more important than profits or its reputation. And in the long run, doing so <a href="https://www.sagepub.com/hi/nam/effective-crisis-communication/book246198">will help it recover</a> and regain trust that’s been lost. </p>
<p>We all expect airplanes to be safe. Boeing has violated that expectation. </p>
<p>The decision about whether and when the 737 Max is back in the air – and how much this will ultimately cost Boeing – will be made by airlines, regulators and legislators. And, in turn, they will listen to their customers and constituents. </p>
<p>If the court of public opinion finds Boeing guilty of putting their lives and their families’ lives at risk, those decision-makers will find it hard to support the company.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114051/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kelli Matthews does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Boeing’s response to the crisis over its 737 Max planes has made the company seem defensive and passive. A crisis management expert explains how Boeing could reclaim the narrative.Kelli Matthews, Senior Instructor of Journalism and Communication, University of OregonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1138922019-03-22T10:44:06Z2019-03-22T10:44:06ZBoeing 737 Max: The FAA wanted a safe plane – but didn’t want to hurt America’s biggest exporter either<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265143/original/file-20190321-93057-19m3e1w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Boeing is accused of not being fully forthcoming about changes it made to the 737 Max.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Ethiopia-Plane-Crash-Boeing/658cb7a4c88e4e6d88f6ad3846dd6b0a/29/0">AP Photo/Ted S. Warren</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Recent incidents aside, air travel <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2018/04/19/airlines-including-southwest-so-safe-its-hard-rank-them-safety/533166002/">is incredibly safe</a> these days. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.baaa-acro.com/statistics/death-rate-per-year?page=0">Global airplane fatalities averaged 840 a year</a> from 2010 to 2018, compared with almost 2,000 in the 1990s. In fact, this decade is on pace to see the fewest casualties since the dawn of jet travel in the 1930s. </p>
<p>Yet the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/12/africa/ethiopian-airlines-flight-302-questions-intl/index.html">March 10 crash</a> of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 serves as a stark reminder that despite the significant safety gains in commercial aviation, accidents are still possible. And when they occur, the number of fatalities is often large.</p>
<p>What makes the most recent crash particularly concerning is that the airplane design <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/how-a-boeing-safety-feature-became-a-suspect-in-crashes/2019/03/19/904243b4-49fb-11e9-8cfc-2c5d0999c21e_story.html?utm_term=.5dcd549c4081">may have played a significant contributing role</a>. Perhaps even worse, there are early indications that regulators at the Federal Aviation Administration – the agency that oversees the development and certification of all U.S. airplanes – may have been more concerned <a href="https://medium.com/@dsaintgermain/the-boeing-debacle-is-the-latest-example-of-regulatory-capture-2a8e138a9c8b">about bringing the Boeing 737 Max to market</a> than about consumer safety.</p>
<p>As a result, <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/capt-sullenberger-737-max-crashes-reveal-cozy-relationship-between-boeing-faa">observers have accused</a> the FAA of being too cozy with Boeing. And <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/19/transportation-secretary-asks-departments-inspector-general-to-audit-faas-certification-of-boeing-737-max.html">transportation officials in both the U.S.</a> and <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/18/canada-re-examining-boeing-max-approval-after-faa-certification-probe.html">Canada</a> plan to review how the plane got certified to fly by the FAA.</p>
<p>As experts on the regulatory process, we see this as a tragic example of what happens when an agency must <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Bureaucracy-Government-Agencies-Basic-Classics/dp/0465007856">balance competing goals</a>. The FAA was supposed to protect air travelers and regulate aircraft makers. At the same time, it doesn’t want to make it harder for companies like Boeing to make money in a very competitive global market.</p>
<p>And a heated rivalry is exactly where Boeing’s current troubles began.</p>
<h2>Competing in a global market</h2>
<p>The global market for jetliners has been dominated by two major competitors: <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/25/why-the-airbus-boeing-companies-dominate-99percent-of-the-large-plane-market.html">Boeing and Airbus</a>. Since the 1990s, they’ve been in a bruising battle over market share. </p>
<p>Competition has been particularly fierce in the narrow-body or single-aisle aircraft market. This segment historically has made up about two-thirds of deliveries for both <a href="https://www.airbus.com/aircraft/market/orders-deliveries.html">Airbus</a> and <a href="http://www.boeing.com/commercial/#/orders-deliveries">Boeing</a>. It also holds <a href="https://www.planestats.com/mro9_2018mar">significant growth potential</a> in the future. Altogether, they have sold and delivered almost <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardaboulafia/2018/03/14/how-the-airbus-boeing-single-aisle-jet-party-could-end/#60ce0ba95a53">20,000 aircraft</a> from the A320 or 737 families since their respective launches in the 1970s and 1980s.</p>
<p>When one company gains even a slight edge by offering a more efficient product, the implications can be massive. This occurred with the <a href="https://www.airbus.com/newsroom/press-releases/en/2011/06/airbus-with-new-order-record-at-paris-air-show-2011.html">highly successful launch of the Airbus 320neo in 2010</a>. The cost savings from reduced fuel consumption proved so significant that even <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/21/business/global/american-places-record-order-with-2-jet-makers.html">American Airlines</a>, an exclusive Boeing customer at the time, ordered several hundred 320neos. Fuel is the <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/040715/what-are-major-expenses-affect-companies-airline-industry.asp">second-highest expense for airlines after labor</a>.</p>
<h2>Boeing playing catch-up</h2>
<p>Falling behind its rival, Boeing felt the need to update its 737 family. And it had to do it fast, <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/how-did-the-faa-allow-the-boeing-737-max-to-fly">particularly with regard to fuel efficiency</a>.</p>
<p>So Boeing decided to alter the position of the plane’s engines. But doing so changed the plane’s aerodynamics in a way that could cause the plane’s nose to tip upward into a stall, which is what appears to have happened repeatedly before the recent crashes. </p>
<p>Boeing sought to solve this engineering problem using an <a href="https://theaircurrent.com/aviation-safety/what-is-the-boeing-737-max-maneuvering-characteristics-augmentation-system-mcas-jt610/">automated correction system</a> known as MCAS. A <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/failed-certification-faa-missed-safety-issues-in-the-737-max-system-implicated-in-the-lion-air-crash/">malfunction of this system</a> may have contributed to the crashes of <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-airplane/ethiopian-crash-crews-voices-could-unlock-high-stakes-boeing-inquiry-idUSKCN1R0183">Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/09/world/asia/air-lion-crash-610.html">Indonesian Lion Air Flight 610</a> in October – although investigations are ongoing.</p>
<p>Boeing <a href="https://boeing.mediaroom.com/2019-03-18-Letter-from-Boeing-CEO-Dennis-Muilenburg-to-Airlines-Passengers-and-the-Aviation-Community">has put out a statement</a> saying that it working with investigators to determine the cause of the crash. </p>
<h2>The FAA and the Boeing 737 Max 8</h2>
<p>Even before these incidents, <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/failed-certification-faa-missed-safety-issues-in-the-737-max-system-implicated-in-the-lion-air-crash/">there were concerns</a> that the FAA was delegating too much safety oversight to Boeing itself.</p>
<p>The FAA allowed Boeing to <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/failed-certification-faa-missed-safety-issues-in-the-737-max-system-implicated-in-the-lion-air-crash/">handle much of the safety certification process</a>, and Congress <a href="http://fortune.com/2019/03/18/boeing-safety-vetting-faa/">supported doing so</a> – though recent events may be prompting lawmakers to <a href="https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2019/03/18/boeing-737-max-faa-congress-investigation">change their tune</a>. Reports have suggested that Boeing <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/failed-certification-faa-missed-safety-issues-in-the-737-max-system-implicated-in-the-lion-air-crash/">even excluded FAA technical experts</a> from some of those decisions. </p>
<p>In addition, recent analyses suggest that <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/failed-certification-faa-missed-safety-issues-in-the-737-max-system-implicated-in-the-lion-air-crash/">Boeing made several misjudgments when it designed MCAS</a> and <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/failed-certification-faa-missed-safety-issues-in-the-737-max-system-implicated-in-the-lion-air-crash/">hasn’t been fully forthcoming</a> with both the FAA and airlines about how it worked. The airline has also been accused of providing inadequate training for pilots. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265146/original/file-20190321-93039-u4huwd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265146/original/file-20190321-93039-u4huwd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265146/original/file-20190321-93039-u4huwd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265146/original/file-20190321-93039-u4huwd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265146/original/file-20190321-93039-u4huwd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265146/original/file-20190321-93039-u4huwd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265146/original/file-20190321-93039-u4huwd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The National Transportation Safety Committee Chairman Soerjanto Tjahjono, right, spoke about a third troubled Boeing flight.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Indonesia-Lion-Air-Crash/8ac04371398647dd93df2a774c1c1648/1/0">AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>‘Regulatory capture’ at the FAA?</h2>
<p>This has led <a href="http://fortune.com/2019/03/18/boeing-safety-vetting-faa/">critics to argue</a> that the FAA has gotten too close to the entity it was supposed to oversee. </p>
<p>This situation – when regulatory agencies created to protect the public interest become overly entangled with commercial and special interests – is known as “<a href="http://law.emory.edu/ecgar/content/volume-1/issue-1/essays/regulatory-capture.html">regulatory capture</a>.” Many see this <a href="https://tobinproject.org/sites/tobinproject.org/files/assets/Introduction%20from%20Preventing%20Regulatory%20Capture.pdf">as corrosive for society</a>. The 2010 <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/oil-spills-biggest-losers-74817">Deep Water Horizon oil explosion</a>, the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Deepwater-Horizon-oil-spill-of-2010">largest marine spill in history</a>, is considered an example of this.</p>
<p>Yet, <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/preventing-regulatory-capture/reconsidering-agency-capture-during-regulatory-policymaking/73AD5D37B4A5769BB9B828818ECD3B81">capture is difficult to prove</a>, especially in an era when businesses must work closely with government to ensure that agency officials have the best and latest technical information to develop and issue appropriate regulations. </p>
<p>During this process, public regulators are supposed to act in the “public interest.” However, the term is inherently vague and open to a multitude of competing interpretations. Unless it involves outright bribes or other corrupt activities, business influence on regulators fails to amount to criminal conduct.</p>
<p>To us, it seems that the FAA was simply caught in an impossible position between the competing goals of protecting consumers and protecting American business interests. In this case, the pendulum may have swung too far to the side of the latter.</p>
<p>Unquestionably, we want our airplanes to be safe. And, to be clear, we believe <a href="https://www.boeing.com/company/about-bca/aviation-safety.page">Boeing does</a> as well. Yet we also want American companies to be successful, and regulations are inherently <a href="https://www.mercatus.org/publication/cumulative-cost-regulations">costly and time-consuming for businesses</a>, many of which are competing with companies worldwide.</p>
<p>It is not surprising that Boeing was eager to move forward with the 737 Max as fast as possible. Nor is it surprising that the FAA and other regulatory bodies are hesitant to impose excessive burdens on American companies – particularly on one of the <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/business/u-s-facing-fresh-scrutiny-over-close-ties-with-boeing/">nation’s premier exporters</a>. </p>
<p>And generally, <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/influence-and-the-administrative-process-lobbying-the-us-presidents-office-of-management-and-budget/638F34BC73235AB4833C852B24C431AF">business interests tend to be much more successful</a> in obtaining their preferred regulatory outcomes than public interest groups. Our own recent work shows that the White House – regardless which party controls it – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/muy033">is more likely to interfere</a> with regulations coming out of more liberal and arguably pro-regulatory agencies. </p>
<h2>The pendulum keeps swinging</h2>
<p>The existence of competing incentives confronting regulatory agencies is nothing new. Public agencies must serve a multitude of goals and objectives and somehow find an appropriate balance.</p>
<p>Yet, at times, the balancing act by public agencies may tilt too far in one direction. And unfortunately, when the imbalance occurs at agencies tasked with protecting public safety, the consequences can be exceedingly dire. </p>
<p>It seems likely that increased public scrutiny in the wake of the two crashes may force the FAA to take a more aggressive stance on the side of consumer safety in the future. Eventually, however, business interests are likely to begin pushing back, and once again the pendulum will swing the other way.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113892/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Webb Yackee has an Innovation in Regulatory Science Award from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, and her research is also supported by the Russell Sage Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon F. Haeder is a Fellow in the Interdisciplinary Research Leaders Program, a national leadership development program supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to equip teams of researchers and community partners in applying research to solve real community problems.</span></em></p>Some are calling the FAA’s relationship with Boeing an open-and-shut case of ‘regulatory capture.’ The reality is more complicated.Susan Webb Yackee, Professor of Political Science, University of Wisconsin-MadisonSimon F. Haeder, Assistant Professor of Political Science, West Virginia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/981362018-11-16T22:21:34Z2018-11-16T22:21:34ZUsing your phone on a plane is safe – but for now you still can’t make calls<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246036/original/file-20181116-194513-18fyjq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1873%2C440%2C5398%2C3702&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">No problem, I can talk....</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/arabic-businessman-middle-east-speaking-on-135220868">Zurijeta/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over the Thanksgiving travel period an <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/todayinthesky/2018/11/14/thanksgiving-travel-airlines-say-one-busiest-ever/1993235002/">estimated 30 million Americans plan to fly</a> to enjoy turkey and all the trimmings with far-flung family and friends. The <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/564717/airline-industry-passenger-traffic-globally/">huge increase in air travelers</a> and ever more full – <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/11/overbooking/">and oversold</a> – flights have made air travel more trying. But it has gotten better in one aspect that most of us in the smartphone-addicted public appreciate: Cellphone use is no longer completely forbidden on planes.</p>
<p>We used to have to turn our phones off and store them when we flew commercially, but now can keep them on as long as they are in Airplane Mode. Why? What’s changed? Weren’t planes supposed to fall out of the sky should some forgetful flier leave their phone on? And what really would happen if everyone started yakking away during cross-country flights?</p>
<h2>Connecting calls via cell towers</h2>
<p>First some basics on how cellphone systems work. When you make or receive a call, your phone looks for the closest cell tower to connect to. Each tower services an area (a “<a href="https://www.tnuda.org.il/en/physics-radiation/radio-frequency-rf-radiation/cellular-communication-network-technologies">cell</a>”) that may be as large as 50 miles in radius over flat terrain, or smaller than a mile in radius in hilly areas or dense urban zones.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246040/original/file-20181116-194503-27tht1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246040/original/file-20181116-194503-27tht1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246040/original/file-20181116-194503-27tht1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246040/original/file-20181116-194503-27tht1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246040/original/file-20181116-194503-27tht1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246040/original/file-20181116-194503-27tht1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246040/original/file-20181116-194503-27tht1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246040/original/file-20181116-194503-27tht1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Your call gets transferred from tower to tower as you move through the landscape.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/silhouette-antenna-tower-repeater-communication-telecommunication-512686384?src=llxshrdHbAwieAqtia4nDQ-1-1">Anucha Cheechang/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As you move from one cell to another, say on your daily commute, your cellphone call gets handed off from one tower to the next. It requires a fair bit of work on the part of the overall system to make these transitions seem seamless to you. There are also built-in expectations about how often these handoffs should happen (not very), the speed of the user (highway speeds at most), and your altitude (somewhere near the ground).</p>
<p>Cellular use on a plane at cruising altitude breaks all three of these expectations. Simply put, calls in the sky may interfere with the proper functioning of this complex system – particularly if a couple hundred passengers all had their cellular radios on – such that users on the ground are affected.</p>
<p>So, for now, the Federal Communications Commission <a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?rgn=div8&node=47:2.0.1.1.2.8.27.12">restricts cellular use on airplanes</a>.</p>
<h2>But what’s the risk?</h2>
<p>That all sounds like a service issue, not a safety one. What would happen if someone kept their phone’s cellular functions on while enjoying the view at 30,000 feet? Likely, nothing. And that’s a good thing, since even when their use was completely banned, people <a href="https://phys.org/news/2013-05-flyers-dont-planes-survey.html">left them on all the time</a>, whether intentionally or not.</p>
<p>But there is a non-neglible risk that using your phone could interfere with critical systems on the plane.</p>
<p>Although most modern phones no longer do this, GSM (2G) phones were notorious for interfering with other electronic systems. Former owners will recall the “<a href="https://www.geek.com/geek-pick/what-causes-gsm-buzz-1538169/">buzz</a>” you heard in your stereo or speakerphone when making a call. Now, imagine this buzz being picked up by a sensitive navigation system. You don’t need to be technically minded to understand that might not be good.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2005-6361">Researchers found</a> that electromagnetic emissions from personal electronic devices can interfere with a plane’s systems. Specifically, <a href="https://mythresults.com/episode49">those in the 800-900 MHz range can interfere with unshielded cockpit instrumentation</a>. This is a particular issue on older aircraft. Newer planes are designed to deal with the huge amount of electronics the flying public takes onto airplanes. </p>
<p>Airplanes are incredibly complex machines, filled with electronics and critical systems required to perform the modern miracle that is flight. The thing about complex systems is that it’s usually impossible to test how safe they are under every conceivable contingency. Given how many new phones <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/11/samsung-decides-56-smartphones-a-year-is-too-many-will-cut-lineup-by-30/">come on the market each year</a>, it would be challenging to test how each and every model might interfere with the systems on each aircraft in the commercial fleet worldwide. So airplane manufacturers work to “<a href="https://www.aerospacemanufacturinganddesign.com/article/amd0415-aircraft-avionics-emi-effects/">harden</a>” the critical systems on their planes to make them less susceptible to interference from electronics.</p>
<h2>Switch your phone to Airplane Mode</h2>
<p>Cellphones used to be just that, a phone. You used it to call and text people. Arguably, the “phone” is now the least used function — think about the time you spend making calls versus everything else you do with it. So frequent fliers chafed at having to put their phone away for hours.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245872/original/file-20181115-194488-wgcden.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245872/original/file-20181115-194488-wgcden.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245872/original/file-20181115-194488-wgcden.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245872/original/file-20181115-194488-wgcden.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245872/original/file-20181115-194488-wgcden.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245872/original/file-20181115-194488-wgcden.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245872/original/file-20181115-194488-wgcden.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245872/original/file-20181115-194488-wgcden.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Today’s phones do way more than just make calls.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/XWTo3Jwx-eE">Stephen Leonardi/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although the FCC governs the use of cellular phones on planes, the Federal Aviation Administration governs the use of electronic devices on planes. If a device doesn’t interfere with the aircraft’s communication or navigation systems, it can be used on planes. People were using laptops, cameras, video players, tablets, electronic games and so on, so why not smartphones? After all, this single device now performs the functions of all those others. Hence, the <a href="https://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsId=15254">FAA ruled</a> they may be used, but only if the cellular radio was switched off. Enter Airplane Mode.</p>
<p>By adding Airplane Mode, device manufacturers have made our lives easier. When you flip on this feature, it turns off your phone’s cellular radio so you can’t make phone calls or text. It also turns off WiFi and Bluetooth, but both of those can be <a href="https://gizmodo.com/every-major-airlines-wifi-service-explained-and-ranked-1701017977">re-enabled and used on planes</a>.</p>
<p>Airlines continue to innovate. Delta, for example, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/27/business/delta-text-messaging.html">offers free access to certain messaging apps</a> like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, which work over WiFi. But cellular texting, which needs the cellular radio, is still prohibited.</p>
<p>Of course some people still want to be able to make phone calls while in flight. Sadly for those of us in the flying public who don’t want to sit next to someone loudly blabbing away all the way from New York to LA, this day may come. Airlines are <a href="https://www.wired.com/2012/05/how-virgin-atlantic-is-letting-you-use-cellphones-mid-flight/">experimenting with “picocells,”</a> which are like mini, low-power cell towers within the plane itself. Since this is the closest “tower” a phone on a plane would find, it would not connect to any towers on the ground, eliminating the FCC’s concerns. Your call would be routed like a <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/general/voice-over-internet-protocol-voip">VoIP call</a> using the plane’s onboard internet provider system.</p>
<p>As for how to keep the rest of us from <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417148/">erupting like Samuel L. Jackson</a>, “Enough is enough! I’ve had it with these [daggone] cell phones on this [daggone] plane!” – perhaps airlines will create “cell-free zones” like the ones in trains and other public places.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98136/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sven Bilén is a member of IEEE P1920.1 - Aerial Communications and Networking Standards working group.</span></em></p>Phones’ functions go far beyond making calls these days. Here’s the basics on why you can use some features and not others – and why planes may someday soon be filled with passengers yakking on phones.Sven Bilén, Professor of Engineering Design, Electrical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.