Air Traffic Controller Lands Stricken Plane By SMS

There's a new reason to hope that the no-cell-chatter bill now under consideration in the US doesn't bring with it a Faraday-cage mandate, and that reason is landing safely. Reader ma11achy writes with an excerpt from a scary story (with an SMS-based happy ending) from the Irish Times: "Five people on a flight from Kerry to Jersey received mobile phone text instructions from a quick-thinking air traffic controller when he guided them in to a safe landing at Cork, after the plane lost all onboard electrical power, communications and weather radar soon after take-off from Kerry airport."

Oh dear

[i_liek_turtles]

Hay r u ok 2 land lol?

Why didn't he just call them?

[Anonymous Coward]

Would've been cheaper.

Re:Oh dear

[FinchWorld]

BRB, cnt talk, crshing.

Re:Why didn't he just call them?

[FinchWorld]

Maybe this will be a boon for women in air traffic control, most can type a sms out faster than most people could speak it.

Once again..

[consonant]

..what would be the point of this act? To reduce passenger annoyance? Great, might as well ban cellphones in cinema halls now.

I think a more sensible legislation would be legalizing poking obnoxious cellphone loudmouths in the eye with pencils..

Re:What?

[Anonymous Coward]

If you don't want to hear it, then get ear plugs, plug in your iPod, or just not listen

You're louder than my music, moron. Get off the f***ing plane.

Re:Why didn't he just call them?

[Anonymous Coward]

They can also start recruiting air traffic controllers right out of junior high school.

"U r clr 4 laning lol"

Re:Oh dear

[Plutonite]

haha what u crshing on she not into u lolz

Re:Why didn't he just call them?

[jalet]

Maybe the plane was in a tunnel at that time.

Re:Why didn't he just call them?

[Fumus]

That's why I love my Nokia 6822 and will never go back to any non-qwerty keyboard phone. Without any effort I could outtype the Morse code in that vid. (Though I knew the text, but then again, I don't type much. Just under 50 texts a day on average.)

Re:Once again..

[ceoyoyo]

You can be thrown out of a theatre for talking on your cell phone (or having it ring). Perhaps we should indeed have the same rule for airplanes.

Re:Why didn't he just call them?

[dotancohen]

I don't type much. Just under 50 texts a day on average.

I also don't read /. much. I probably hit F5 no more than 50 times a day.

I expect a new Irish drinking song

[navyjeff]

As I was flying Nor'ward
'tween Cork and Kerry airports
I saw the dash go dim,
and me passengers did scream out,
"You better land this plane, man
or the Devil, he may take ye"

Whack fol my daddy-o,
Whack fol my daddy-o,
there's whisky in the jar

I switch to my cell phone,
for my cell phone never fail'd me.
But, the Devil take that cell phone,
for when I called the tower,
that damn'd thing went and dropped me!

If anyone can aid me,
it's controller in the Tower.
Send forth me text message
and direct me to the runway!

Re:Why didn't he just call them?

[ProfessionalCookie]

Which is why texting is free for contract phones in the US. Dang it!

Sellotape

[turgid]

You have used two inches of Sellotape. Bless you, my child!

Re:"landing safety" -- bullshit

[History's Coming To]

"Reminds me of the wackos who say cell phones should be allowed in cinemas "in case of terrorist attack"."

They've got a point though - cell phones are an excellent way of setting bombs off remotely, how else are you going to mount a terrorist attack if they're banned in cine.....oh.....hang on... Ah, I get your point now...

Re:Whats the tech hubub about cell phones?

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey, that page is full of text.

Any study worth doing is worth filming and presenting as a 30-minute TV show. Jeesh.

Re:Oh dear

[Anonymous Coward]

I cn hz lnd?