An electronics engineer I am not. A B767 Captain I am. Despite the passengers being briefed in the terminal before boarding the aircraft and then again on the aircraft before takeoff, we still have the problem of passengers using their mobile phones when in the aircraft.
THIS IS DANGEROUS !!!
Why ?
Some of you may have been using a 'normal' (landline) phone when someone close by has switched on their mobile. You will have heard the "click click click click" through your landline phone earpiece.
I have had several occasions now when this "click click....." has blocked out R/T comms.
The last time was in Dubai a few weeks ago. We had just landed and had switched to Ground 118.35 Our taxi instructions were;
"XXX123 turn right onto click click click click click"
Fortunately we were on the ground that time.
Now lets change the time and place to (say) London Heathrow, early morning (busy time), Low Vis (Cat 3B) proceedures, you are on short finals, cleared to land.
Surface Movement Radar now detects a ground vehicle entering the runway (it is heavy fog after all). The A.T.C. immediately transmits a Go Around instruction.
What you hear is;
"XX 123 click click click click click"
RVR is 75m. Touchdown speed is 135 Kts.
Maybe you will be lucky.
Maybe you will be dead.
Small single engine piston, or multi engine wide body jet. What's the difference ? Dead is dead.
You can now go into the realm of a passenger deliberately and willfully disobeying an aircraft commanders lawful instruction regarding safety of flight if you want to. I remember earlier this year a Saudi Arabian newspaper reporting a major in the Saudi Armed Forces being sentenced to a flogging of 70 lashes for refusing to switch off his mobile during an internal flight in Saudi. I think a video of such a flogging should be played in all transit lounges. I'm sure a good flogging along with a message like "You too can have your back mutilated, just use your mobile in flight" would have a remarkable effect on those people who absolutely must use their mobiles on board.
P.S. I'm not really a miserable grouch, I just don't like people trying to kill me.