With Wings As Eagles: Craig P. Steffen's Blog

please direct your attention to the flight attendants

2009 January 04 21:01

You know the safety briefing that flight attendants give to you when you fly on an airliner? Well private pilots are required to give a version of it to their passengers too. I ran across a checklist for a Piper Arrow that listed an extremely detailed briefing, which got me thinking as to what parts of it are required.

FAA regulation 91.519 covers this topic. Basically, you must make sure your passengers know: - when and where they can smoke - how to use the seat belts and when to have them on - location and operation of normal and emergency exits - location of survival equipment - information on ditching (landing in water) if appropriate - use of (normal and emergency) oxygen equipment

Regulation 91.21 also covers the use of portable electronic devices. The current version, as of 2009 states:

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, no person may operate, nor may any operator or pilot in command of an aircraft allow the operation of, any portable electronic device on any of the following U.S.-registered civil aircraft:

(1) Aircraft operated by a holder of an air carrier operating certificate or an operating certificate; or

(2) Any other aircraft while it is operated under IFR.

(b) Paragraph (a) of this section does not apply to—

(1) Portable voice recorders;

(2) Hearing aids;

(3) Heart pacemakers;

(4) Electric shavers; or

(5) Any other portable electronic device that the operator of the aircraft has determined will not cause interference with the navigation or communication system of the aircraft on which it is to be used.

(c) In the case of an aircraft operated by a holder of an air carrier operating certificate or an operating certificate, the determination required by paragraph (b)(5) of this section shall be made by that operator of the aircraft on which the particular device is to be used. In the case of other aircraft, the determination may be made by the pilot in command or other operator of the aircraft.

I assume "an operating certificate" is something that applies to airlines. So...if I read this right, then when operating a general aviation aircraft under VFR flight rules, I can allow people to use Cell phones in flight? And even if I'm going to operate IFR, I can still have them used if I determine that it's safe?

I'm stunned. For some reason, I assumed there was a hard "don't use Cell phones in an airplane or you'll surely die!" regulation somewhere. Since airlines prohibit their use, I had always assumed that the same rule applied to me as a generation aviation pilot. My briefing (to flight instructors) has pretty much been "seat belts fastened? Cell phones off?".

Guess we learn something new every day.