Southwest Airlines passenger cited for cellphone abuse was purportedly on life-and-death call with hospital

Pavel Lishin, says:

Maybe he was going to visit his father.

John McClelland, says:

Unless he had the powers of some deity unknown to us, his phone call wouldn't have stopped or started his father's heart. I know that sounds cold, but he didn't need to be on the phone.

Rick Yost, says:

"I say shoot him!"

No, wait, Teresa inspired me to say that! I swear!

So, if I'm in this guy's situation (considering the 'on the phone to the emergency room' story is real) I'm not going to give a *#&@ what ticket the cops give me at the airport.

And if the guy was just being self-important and trying to order a pizza to be there when he deplaned-he WAS given a ticket. That's apparently the consequence.

Either way, the plane didn't drop out of the sky.

I don't know if it really is a safety issue or not. I just appreciate not having to listen to half of someone else's lengthy, useless, and usually too loud conversation.

Pavel Lishin, says:

John: They could have been asking him what medication his father is deadly allergic to. In which case, hanging up could very well have stopped his father's heart if they accidentally killed him with something he was allergic to.

Scott Doyle, says:

Umm, if the heart's stopped...I doubt they need a green light from someone on a cell phone to get it beating again.

Anyone have any idea what the true risk is of cell phones being used on planes? I mean, is it really going to mess with the nav system enough to where the pilot can't stop the plane from nose-diving into the ground?

Had something serious happened i.e. car wreck mangling/killing someone or the plane falling out of the sky...should this guy be on the hook for not hanging up the phone? I imagine he drove like a bat out of hell with the in his ear on the way to the hospital

Pavel Lishin, says:

Rules are rules, I guess. If my father was in the hospital, dying, I wouldn't be concerned about a $200 ticket.

Scott Doyle, says:

Ticket's not the issue, imo. Since a cell phone <a href="http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/question230.htm">technically </a> could have significant effects on a plane's systems, it's not exactly the best idea to create a hazard just to know what's going on with your father...and causing a disturbance likely cost him more time when he got off the plane than was saved.

Unless this guy is a doctor, I have a hard time seeing how the call changes his father's mortality while the ticker's stopped. Not that I don't empathize with wanting to be informed...IJS it's not imperative.

Rick Yost, says:

It's hard to judge another's actions sometimes.
Rules, laws, protocols, and social guidelines go straight out the window when a loved one or family member is in peril.
We sometimes set our own imperatives.

Then again, he might just be a jerk.

Lisa Lawrence Merritt, says:

WTF?! Remember back to WWII and people couldn't communicate though lives were in peril.

Give me a damn break!

Rick Yost, says:

WTF- Sorry, I wasn't even alive during said war.
I doubt there were many cell phones back then eh?

However, I do see young folks conducting entire relationships over the phone. I remember when I might go days without speaking to my girlfriend or wife.

Rick Yost, says:

Oh sure! Like your the first woman to want me to leave! Sheesh! :-)

Scott Doyle, says:

David, while it made me chuckle, methinks the following addition would have been A++:

<i>Mythbusters and Wikipedia (both 100% reliable sources <b>[citation needed]</b>) to the rescue:</i>

In the meantime, feel free to critique me at will. I leave you the following...

<img src="http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/1/genesiscitationox9.jpg">

Pavel Lishin, says:

Lisa - yeah, but people also died of dysentery and polio.

Ah, simpler times.