Turn Off Electronics Before Takeoff

by Kristen Hawley 3

Of all the causes I've been championing of late, this one is near and dear to my heart. Despite being a rather frequent airplane passenger, I am terrified of flying. Throw physics and other safety facts in my face, and I am still terrified of flying. So when I hear stories of celebs (and others) getting tossed from planes for refusing to turn off cell phones and other devices, I can't understand why people don't just turn off their electronics when they're asked to do so.

In a story that many of us have heard before, engineering and aviation experts are saying that electronic devices can interfere with an airplane's navigational controls and may have even been a factor in one recent charter plane crash. Scared yet? Learn more after the break.

While the experts also say that the signals emitted by electronic devices don't cause a problem every time (and not even close to the majority of the time), they still have the potential to cause trouble in the cockpit. I don't know about you, but if there's a way that we can prevent this sort of trouble in the cockpit, I'm all in.

So, once more for emphasis: please turn off your electronics when the crew asks you to turn off your electronics.