Should Cell Phones Still Be Banned During Flight?

You've heard the flight attendant say it since 1991. Don't use electronic devices, like cell phones after the plane leaves the gate and until your flight is headed for a gate upon arrival.

But according to an Illiniois college professor who KSDK reports hails from Olivette, many of us aren't heeding the advice.

Daniel Simons, a University of Illiniois professor, wrote in the Wall Street Journal last week about a study he co-authored on the subject.

On his Google+ account, he described the survey of just under 500 people this way:

My survey of ~500 passengers found that 40% did not turn their phones off completely during takeoff and landing of their most recent flight (7.5% left their wifi and cell active, and 2% used their phones or internet). The odds that all passengers on an average-sized flight have their phones powered off is less than 1 in 100 quadrillion. If phones interfered with cockpit gear or communication, we should see documented and repeatable cases of interference on a daily basis. But, there are few (if any) repeatable cases of interference.

Simons and study co-author Christopher Chabris closed out their WSJ essay this way:

We are not suggesting that people should disobey the current rules. But we believe strongly that policies like the FAA's ban should be based on evidence rather than on fear. The evidence shows that nearly every flight must have some phones and gadgets on, and those flights have not been falling out of the sky.

The Federal Aviation Administration opened a public comment period to take input August 31 and expires October 30, 2012. For more information on how to make a formal comment, go to the website of the Federal Register.

What do you think? Do you do it already? Should the rule be scaled back? Tell us in the comment section.