The real reason(s) you should turn off electronic devices before takeoff.

Ever wondered why airlines insist that you turn off electronic devices before takeoff? The answer might surprise you.
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Airplane on a runway

Why do airline passengers have to turn off electronic devices before takeoff? How come? Does it mess up navigation systems? Will it really crash the plane? For years, you've probably been puzzling over this most mysterious question of the ages. Well now, finally, there's an answer. Or three, actually.

Why you should turn off electronic devices before takeoff.

The folks over at CollegeHumor.com have looked into the issue and come up with the most plausible answer yet for why airline flight attendants are constantly asking us to turn off our Kindles® and iPhones before takeoff (but not pace-makers, thankfully).

The real reason you need to turn off electronic devices before takeoff.

turn off electronic devices before takeoff
Photo by Gerald England | CC-BY-SA 2.0

While there may or may not be technological considerations—especially with the advent of mind-controlling 5G technology—mostly those harried flight attendants just want passengers to sit down, shut up, and pay attention to their safety presentation.

[] said that the benefit of shutting off electronics is that it guarantees that no one will have headphones or players on to distract them in case the flight attendants actually need to give emergency instructions. — Sasha Katsnelson

When you think about it, having to turn off electronic devices before takeoff is a small price to pay for increasing the likelihood that we all don't all die in the event of a crash landing. That seems worth it, right?

But what about putting your seat-back upright?

Sitting in an airplane seat
Put your seat-back in the full upright position.

In the same vein of “not having everyone onboard die after a crash landing,” putting your seat-back in “the full upright position” is also vitally important. It's all in the name of passenger safety. According to Brian Manning, a flight attendant for Mesa Airlines:

When the seat is [tilted] back, it's not locked. In the event of an emergency, an unlocked seat has more force during impact, and the thrusting forward of that seat can cause passenger injury.

Yeah, see? There are perfectly sound, logical reasons for most of the seemingly crazy stuff flight attendants spew out of their PA system while you're trying to a movie.

So cut them some slack, as I imagine a lot of them would be perfectly happy to let the more annoying of us passengers die a fiery death.

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