Man denies hitting teen on plane for refusing to turn off phone

The 68-year-old man insists he merely "tapped" the 15-year-old kid when he didn't turn off his cell phone as the plane took off. "I just wanted him to abide by the rules," says the senior citizen. (Idaho Statesman)

Comments

[joel]

Three cheers for the guy. Punk didn't follow the rules and pops should have done more than tap him. I wish he would have thrown him out of the plane, at 30,000 feet.

These douchebag flyers who feel that the rules are for everyone but them are becoming more than a simple nuissance. I don't have to turn off my phone, I don't have to go through security, I should be allowed to carry a loaded weapon on a plane, all a$$holes.

So, again, thank you old man, you have my congratulations.

[KDP]

I've wanted to do that too. There's nothing more annoying than listening to someone holding a phone conversation that consists of the starting phrase, "Hey! Guess where I am?"

[twerp]

The rules are there for safety. Cell phones not only are annoying to passangers but they cause equipment/communications disruptions as well. Don't believe me? Stick your cell phone on an older model computer monitor, then call it. See how the screen jiggles...yeah.

[RockyMtnMac]

If someone puts their hands on me, they better at least buy me a damn drink, first. Next time, tell a Flight Attendant and MYOB.

[Tom Weidermeijer]

Should have used his keys to hit the kid.

Like the old guy last year that was hitting little kids at Walmart.

[The Cardinal]

Bravo, bravo...since old dude probably knew he would get arrested and charged regardless of his righteous reason, he should have gotten his money's worth by putting his foot up the kid's behind. If the kid wants to put only himself at risk, it's one thing, but don't put everyone else on a frickin' plane at risk (and yeah, the ol' coot could have called a flight attendant, but where's the fun in that?)!

[Jamie]

Go grandpa!
My dad works aircraft maintenance and inspection and swears the cell phones won't disrupt the cockpit...but he doesn't care to test that theory because he flies alot and, like everyone, doesn't want people chatting away the whole flight either!

[MidtownCoog]

I've been a pilot for almost 19 years. The cell phone on planes myth is just that.

A dang myth. It's all about being able to manage the flying public.

Imagine 132 freaks on a 737 yacking and jacking about nothing.

[Pile of Pooh]

The only good part about being on a plane is that no one can call me. The bad part is I'm usually flying to a meeting with all the people who would normally be calling to yell at me.

[Sheila]

Even if said freaks are yacking and jacking about something, I don't want to hear them.

[Lou Sussler]

I usually agree with the majority of posters here but not on this one. I think it's b/c of the phone. Would you feel the same way if he smacked the kid for unbuckling his seat belt or pulling his bag out from under the seat in front of him?

"“I’m old school. You abide by the rules. They have them for a reason,” Miller said.

All true but it's not his job to enforce them. He sounds to me like the kind of jackass who drives 65 in the left lane to enforce the speeding rules or opens his yap and says something when you cross the street against the light when there is zero traffic coming from any direction. STFU and MYOB Pops.

[Lambiepie]

call the flight attendant, it's their job not yours

[American Veteran]

"yacking and jacking"?
Does the jacking part have something to do with the mile high club for your hand?

[Farmer Bob and the City]

Sterilization.

[Nino]

One of the few issues where I disagree with the majority.

They do have rules for a reason, but this rule isn't there for the reasons they say. It's for the following:

1. They don't want a plane full of people all yacking on their phones.
2. Fast cell tower switching during a call might burden the network.
3. They don't want phones to compete with their own more expensive services.
4. In the USA the FAA is scared to rescind the ruling because if there was a crash it would be bad for them politically.

A number of EU and asian airlines allow personal electronic use without a problem. Also, studies show that at least one phone is left on accidentally on almost every flight.

The kid is dumb, but the old man is a jerk as well, and he's enforcing a rule which is based on a bunch of misinformation and fear. Welcome to America.

[pollysmith]

While I applaud the old guy for doing what the kids parents should've done I do feel that he would have been better off calling the flight attendent

[Nino]

Regardless of the BS and administrative fear of taking a stand I am in favor of banning cell use, but it should be for the right reason.

"Cell phone use is prohibited for the duration of the flight because it has been shown that at least 10% of you are going to be inconsiderate jerks and yack loudly and nonstop for the next 4 hours, which will increase the incidence of 'air rage' an average of 78%"

[Krash]

Definitely a rule to limit the "Yak" aggravation factor,
and in that sense a damn GOOD rule. If OUR Esteemed Authority Figures would have the balls to tell us all the TRUTH and BE Open and Transparent about this kind of stuff you WOULDN'T have Gramps bothering Jr. for playing games in Air. Sure, He IS wrong, but the people who make these fVcking USEless rules have GOT to be held accountable AND forced to changed their policies.

[Lambiepie]

I didn't hit him, I pulled his head off and spit down his neck
not the same thing at all

[joel]

Interesting that some are saying that because the cell phone rule is BS that it should not be taken seriously. Well, personally, I think speed limits, taxes, laws against the date rape drug, and laws against smoking marijuana are BS rules. And that whole thing about not yelling fire in a crowded theatre? BS.

So based on some of the logic expressed above I can just ignore them.

Good to know.

[many]

"Smart phones" are also music players, game machines, radios, cameras, internet browsers, asnausium. Perhaps this kid was using the device as one of those things and not as a phone? Depeding on what point in the flight this happened the old guy might simply be an ignorant control freak.

OTOH, I agree it would be an even worse hell than it is already onboard a commecial flight with obnoxious cell phone calls going on all around, so I think the rule is a good one. Smacking the kid was OK too because he probably desrved it for something else anyway.

I think we need to see this on the people's court and let judge Judy deal with them.

[shae]

the man should of never hit the teen if the teen wants the on then let him be people need cell phone to be on no matter what

[Nino]

Joel, The rule is BS, and I don't take it seriously, but I do comply with the rule because if I don't I'll get hassled and possibly get kicked off the plane.

Also, I don't see anyone here saying we should "stick it to the man" and leave our phones on in some act of civil disobedience.

What people are saying, mostly, is that the rule is BS, and much more so than most of the BS rules you mention, which seem largely common sense (aside from the marijuana laws).

Anyway, nice straw man.

[Sigh]

@nino: Using cell phones on commercial and private aircraft is banned not by the FAA but by the Federal Communications Commission, which regulates telephone use. In prohibiting airborne use in 1991, the FCC was mainly concerned about cell phones' potential to interfere with ground-to-ground cellular transmission.

The FAA has never outlawed cell-phone use in airplanes. But the agency supports the FCC ban "for reasons of potential interference," according to an FAA advisory.

[Swangirl]

I still haven't quite figured out how the kid got a red mark on his arm from "a tap" but maybe Gramps had a big ring on his hand when he tapped him. Brass knuckles? :-)

True, he should have let the flight attendants handle it but perhaps they were on the other end of the plane. It would be interested to hear what witnesses saw.

I do agree with Gramps that rules are rules. I don't care if you don't like them, you should obey them. If you are so bothered by a rule, quit whining and work to get it changed or removed. Unfortunately, we now live in a world where following rules is considered "optional" instead of mandatory.

[RockyMtnMac]

Gramps is selective about rules.
If he is such a stickler for rules, why not follow the rules about not striking a minor, keeping hands to self, and not interfering with the Flight Crew doing their jobs?

[Nino]

Sigh, you're right about it being the FCC, not the FAA, though the FAA has issued an advisory recommending they be banned, and airlines typically follow those as well as the mandatory rule. My #2 in the list notes the primary FCC concern of interference with ground-to-ground systems. I'm just using the Wikipedia page on this topic, which is pretty exhaustive (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phones_on_aircraft).

I still stand by my point, though, that inertia and administrative fear of being responsible for a change has a lot to do with why the rules are the way they are, and also why people have the mistaken idea that using the cell phone has the possibility of taking down a plane.

The reality is that the airlines and the government are complicit in leading people to believe, erroneously, that leaving your cell phone on could possibly cause a crash, when that's actually not the case. This in-turn leads people to freak out if they see someone using their phone. I'm all for a ban, as I mention above, what I dislike are rules where people have been consistently misled about the reasons and the consequences.

[Jetfixer]

The kid wasn't small and didn't understand the rules. He's in High School! Can't he read where it's stamped plainly on your ticket? Where it states, all electronic devices must be switched off during take off and landing. Can't he follow simple instructions from the flight crew? What does he think, these rules apply to everyone but him? Speaking of the flight crew, why didn't they handle the situation? To charge a man with Assault is just plain ridiculous. If you get to High School, and don't realize you must follow rules, you're in sorry shape. For that, I blame his parents. Maybe, he was just seeing how far he could "push it". So he chose to act like a spoiled punk. I just bet his parents are so proud of their baby, who needs a trip to the woodshed.

[Rusty]

The kid's PARENTS and airplane crew are the only people who can tell him what to do. Disgusting, old perv needs to keep his hands to himself.

[jj2]

I noticed this was Southwest. The flight attendants on those planes aren't sticklers for rules, in case you haven't flown them before. I was on a Southwest flight when the drunk guy next to us refused to fasten his seatbelt. The airline attendant noticed it, and just shrugged. Unfortunately, we were sitting in the rear-facing seats and he nearly fell out of his seat when we took off, and those sitting next to him turned into his human seatbelts.

[Turning Winds Site]

While it is okay to remind the teen of the rules, it was probably best to just talk to them properly without any physical contact.
If the kid still persists then talk to the parents or the flight attendants. Kids these days often neglect the purpose of rules and the effects of breaking them.