The folks at Fodors have a library of topics to choose from, and all they come up with is at what point do you turn your cell phone on? Yawn. They can do better than that.

Agreed. I clicked on it thinking they were asking for our input about the message boards. Silly me.

I couldn't even answer their poll because there was no option "don't even have a cellphone" !

Or at least, "I don't bring it on vacation with me!!"

Boring, true - but chilling as well. Did you notice the percentage claiming to never turn the damned thing off! Plane navigation be hanged. Pilot request be hanged. They're probably the same ones I hear at ther symphony! Airlines ought to ban the things.

If airlines had banned cell phones before 9/11/01, we might right now be rebuilding the US Capitol or the White House.

Jen,

How do you work that out? Correct me if I'm wrong but The White House was not saved by someone weilding a mobile phone.

no more boring than the ten thousandth post asking where to eat in nyc.

Nell,

My understanding is that because of cell phones, the passengers in the downed plan knew what was happeing (planes crashing into buildings).

without that info, I doubt that they would have attempted to take back control of the plane.

As I think Steve said, the passengers of Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania, learned of the other hijackings and their outcomes via cell phone conversations with people on the ground.

Without that information, the passengers probably would have followed the prescribed behavior (up until that date, anyway) for dealing wtih hijackers, which is to cooperate and give them what they want. Knowing that they had nothing to lose, and would probably die anyway (rather than landing somewhere, as hijacked planes normally do), they did whatever it took to take over the plane, or at least keep it from completing its mission. Government and news sources have all assumed that the hijackers were taking Flight 93 to Washington DC.

Cell phone conversations between passengers and attendants on the 4 doomed planes and the ground also provided details about which passengers were hijackers (flight attendants reported their seat assignments) and what they did, which weapons they used, etc., valuable clues in pursuing their groups and preventing further disasters.

Todd Beamer used the GE Airphone.

Snopes.com usually does a good job of researching urban legends; here's their version of Beamer, phones, etc.

http://www.snopes.com/rumors/beamer.htm

The poll question had nothing to do with the events of 9/11. The question was, when do you turn your cell phone on?

I just checked the latest results. Here are the people that are Really important!! 11% (51) As soon as we it the tarmac! (25m, 26f). 12% (58) When the seatbelt sign goes off! (20m, 38f).
4% (18) NEVER TURN IT OFF!!!!!! (9m, 9f).

This last group is REALLY--REALLY important!!!!!!

Sometimes, don't you just want to take away some person's cell phone and shove it _______________!!!!!

Dick

I agree with Dick. My life was much improved and simplified since I tossed my cell phone in the pond outside my home. Had had it with Sprint and the pretentious, invasive, obnoxious, annoying, dangerous (while driving) aspects of owning a cell phone. If it were up to me they would all be banned!

Of course, on 9-11, cellphones in DC were inoperative - by design. And they probablky would be disabled again when another terrorist attacks takes place. But they need to be turned off onboard - but I grant you Jen has a valid point. By the way, that fourth plane, we know now, was headed for the captiol dome. There were, by the way, several cellphone calls from the plane that hit the Pentagon, but no onboard action apparently was possible. Keep the phones with passengers - but lets see some cooperation and turn them off during the flight. They'd always be there if needed.

I have heard through unsubstantiated grapevine sources that the cell phone ban on aircraft has a lot less to do with navigational interference and a lot more to do with the fact that calls can be made without airtime or roaming charges.

Russ,

I could care less about why the airlines want the cell phones turned off during flight.

Who in the hell wants them on??????? These idiots who abuse their freedom of space at the expense of the other passengers should really get a life.

We've all seen the "IMPORTANT" people yaaking on the c-phone about absolutely nothing in very loud voices so we may all share their wonderful conversation. Their intrusion is on the same level as an uncontrolled child.

Enough is enough! Common courtesy doesn't seem to apply to a whole lot of c-phone users.

Dick

What sort of validity does a self-selected poll have? I could click on "never turn it off" with perfect honesty since I don't have a cell phone.

TTT

This poll reminds me of a man sitting next to me on a recent flight. He turned on his cell phone just as we were standing up to de-plane, and it rang a couple of seconds later. He then proceeded to tell the caller in the usual cell phone yell, "I can't talk to you and carry both my bags...I said, I can't talk and carry both my bags!" Well why the heck did he bother to turn on the phone in the first place?