How to fly on an airplane

As students continue to pour into Bloomington, those who called Indiana home during the summer have little more to do than pack their bags, kiss their mothers goodbye and drive themselves into Monroe County.

Those from out of state and out of the country, however, find themselves going to great lengths this week in order to return to school.

Anyone who has traveled on an airplane in recent years knows it has become less than a pleasant experience.

Gone are the days where airlines made money and could afford to fly half empty planes or offer mediocre meals in flight.

Now flying entails waking up at the crack of dawn and hauling heavy luggage to the airport. There is hardly any time for a proper goodbye to tearful parents. Forget a good breakfast – long lines and large crowds means having to get there as early as possible.

Once through the hells of security and at the proper gate, the weary traveler deserves some reprieve. What better way to relax than to ignore the clamor of the terminal by listening to some tunes on your MP3 player?

It is good until one has boarded the flight and the doors have closed. Suddenly an announcement comes on demanding that all flyers turn off their portable devices. Music, such a simple pleasure, is suddenly torn away as cabin pressure changes and the flight takes off.

I, however, refuse to adhere to such commands. Instead, as the flight attendants roam the aisles enforcing that seat belts are buckled, tray tables are down and that no one is enjoying any Frank Sinatra, I pull my hood over my head and hide my iPod beneath my jacket. Then I lean my head away from the aisle and feign sleep so that I am not bothered.

What most amazes me as the plane climbs into the sky and my headphones boom with music is that we remain safely in flight. I have to wonder if there is any validity to the turning-off-portable-devices rule in the first place.

Apparently, there is not.

According to Federal Aviation Administration regulations, airlines are not required to have their customers turn off portable electronic devices during takeoff and landing.
However, by law an airline becomes responsible for any interference to the computing systems caused by an electronic portable device used by a flyer. Airlines have overcompensated on caution in an attempt to avoid liability.

But can iPods really have an effect on the integrity and safety of a flight?

Experts are not sure. While it is admittedly true that all wireless devices do emit weak radio waves that could interfere with the computing equipment, it has not been proven that they possess a direct threat to the safety of the flight.

So until I get some hard proof that listening to my iPod is going to make the plane go down, I think it is worth taking my chances.