CEO charged for refusing to get off cellphone during Southwest flight

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...eb5b0.html?npc

Austin man charged after refusing to hang up cellphone during
Southwest Airlines flight
Monday, May 12, 2008
By SUZANNE MARTA / The Dallas Morning News

An Austin businessman was charged with disorderly conduct after he
allegedly refused to stop using his mobile phone on a flight Monday
from Austin to Dallas Love Field.

Dallas police met the plane after the pilot radioed ahead to the Love
Field tower. They cited Joe David Jones, 50, president of an Austin-
based environmental start-up company called Skyonic Corp., with the
Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500.

The incident occurred as a Southwest flight from Austin began its
descent into Dallas.

"After multiple requests, the flight attendants were not successful in
getting the passenger to get off the phone," Southwest spokeswoman
Brandy King said.

According to the police report, Mr. Jones was asked to turn off his
cellphone and responded, "Kiss my [expletive]." When asked again, he
said, "Kiss my [expletive]. Not happening."

According to the police report, Mr. Jones remained on the phone about
20 minutes. When officers met Mr. Jones at the gate, he continued to
exhibit disorderly conduct, police said.

Federal Aviation Administration regulations prohibit any use of mobile
phones except when the aircraft is on the ground. Airlines can be
fined up to $25,000 if they permit cellphone use during a flight, and
individuals also can face fines, Ms. King said.

Mr. Jones was unavailable for comment Monday, but his spokesman, Mark
Clayton, said the businessman had received a message that his father's
heart had stopped beating and tried several times to reach officials
in the cardiac unit where his father was being treated.

"He did express regrets for any inconvenience, but due to the life and
death circumstances, he felt he needed to make the call," Mr. Clayton
said.

Beth Harbin, a Southwest spokeswoman, said that although the carrier
sympathizes with Mr. Jones' situation, "it was a safety regulation
that we're required to enforce, and we're simply not in a position to
make exceptions."

Incidents involving passengers and cellphone use are relatively rare,
Ms. Harbin said. Southwest has recorded 26 incidents of mobile-phone
abuse so far this year, and only one of those escalated into a report
to the FAA.

While there have been high-profile examples of people using mobile
phones during a flight – such as during the Sept. 11 attacks – studies
have shown some potential for interference with an airplane's
navigation and communications systems.

In-flight cellphone use is also prohibited by the Federal
Communications Commission because of possible interference with
wireless networks on the ground. The FCC has considered lifting the
ban, beginning in 2004, but ended those discussions last year.

However, mobile-phone use has been approved by European regulators,
and a satellite-based service is being tested by Air France on one of
its Airbus A318 planes for flights within Europe and North Africa.

The airline Emirates launched service with a similar system on one of
its Airbus A340-300 airplanes in March and has said it will spend $27
million to equip its entire fleet.

In the U.S., demand for such a service has been relatively low. A
survey by Forrester Research showed less than 16 percent of travelers
wanted to make calls during flights, compared with 55 percent who
would like broadband Internet access.

Forrester analyst Henry Harteveldt said the use of mobile phones in
the cabin raises another risk: air rage.

"No one wants to sit next to a Chatty Cathy talking about their latest
conquest," he said.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://skyonic.com/directorsOfficers.php

JOE JONES, PRESIDENT AND CEO
Joe Jones, President and CEO of Skyonic, earned a BS in Chemical
Engineering from the University of Texas and spent the first 25 years
of his career in the semiconductor manufacturing industry, working at
Texas Industries, Cypress Semiconductors, and others. He participated
in the start-up and operation of five wafer-fabrication plants (TI,
AMD, and Cypress), the development of one of the first fabless
semiconductor companies (Ross Technology), and an independent
outsource semiconductor company he founded (BridgePoint Technical
Manufacturing). His credits include numerous contributions to the
chemistry of wafer-fabrication and semiconductor testing, and his goal
is to apply the low-energy lessons he learned in semiconductor
development to the problem of creating a low-energy method of
sequestering CO2. A businessman, as well as an engineer and an
environmentalist, Joe left his position as CEO of BridgePoint when his
belief in the need for clean, sustainable energy led him to begin
development of the SkyMine™ technology and found Skyonic Corporation
in 2005.

MARK CLAYTON, VICE PRESIDENT OF CORPORATE RELATIONS
Mark Clayton joined Skyonic as Vice President of Corporate Relations
in March of 2007 after spending almost 30 years in the semiconductor
industry where he worked in engineering, quality, marketing, and
sales. He is alumnus of Texas Instruments, Aeronca Electronics,
Silicon Materials Service, Rodel, and Wacker Siltronic. He has a BA in
Chemistry from Austin College and an MA in Education, and has also
worked as an educator. Mark is also a scout leader, and believes very
strongly in clean energy development to benefit the next generation.

writes:

Federal Aviation Administration regulations prohibit any use of mobile
phones except when the aircraft is on the ground.

Which FAR is that?

Mxsmanic wrote in
:

writes:

Federal Aviation Administration regulations prohibit any use of mobile
phones except when the aircraft is on the ground.

Which FAR is that?


The FARs are online. Try searching them.

"Benjamin Dover" wrote in message
...
Mxsmanic wrote in
:

writes:

Federal Aviation Administration regulations prohibit any use of mobile
phones except when the aircraft is on the ground.

Which FAR is that?


The FARs are online. Try searching them.

You, too. Knock yourself out, in fact. The FARs are
contained within Title 14 ("Aeronautics and Space") of
the Code of Federal Regulations, and you can find
a link to a searchable form of that he

http://www.faa.gov/regulations_polic...a_regulations/

If you can find the words "cell phone, "cellular telephone,"
"cellular phone," "mobile telephone," or "mobile phone"
anywhere in 14 CFR, you're doing better than I could.
(Hint: have you noticed how some carriers are already
working on systems which would permit in-flight cell-phone
use?)

The basis for restricting cell phone use (or for that matter,
the use of any particular electronic device) in flight is
not a specific FAA regulation pertaining to those devices,
but rather the authorization by the FAA to the airlines to
make their own regulations/restrictions as they see fit to
ensure flight safety, per THEIR judgement.

The GOVERNMENT'S main concern re cell phones
specifically - above and beyond the airlines' own
restrictions re potential interference with avionics -
has to do with the potential havoc this MIGHT raise
with the ground-based cell system (i.e., in-flight phones
talking to multiple "cells" simultaneously). And that's an
FCC issue, not an FAA one.

Bob M.

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
writes:

Federal Aviation Administration regulations prohibit any use of mobile
phones except when the aircraft is on the ground.

Which FAR is that?


You can find it at www.google.com
--
JohnT

"Bob Myers" wrote in
:


"Benjamin Dover" wrote in message
...
Mxsmanic wrote in
:

writes:

Federal Aviation Administration regulations prohibit any use of mobile
phones except when the aircraft is on the ground.

Which FAR is that?


The FARs are online. Try searching them.

You, too. Knock yourself out, in fact. The FARs are
contained within Title 14 ("Aeronautics and Space") of
the Code of Federal Regulations, and you can find
a link to a searchable form of that he

http://www.faa.gov/regulations_polic...a_regulations/

If you can find the words "cell phone, "cellular telephone,"
"cellular phone," "mobile telephone," or "mobile phone"
anywhere in 14 CFR, you're doing better than I could.
(Hint: have you noticed how some carriers are already
working on systems which would permit in-flight cell-phone
use?)

The basis for restricting cell phone use (or for that matter,
the use of any particular electronic device) in flight is
not a specific FAA regulation pertaining to those devices,
but rather the authorization by the FAA to the airlines to
make their own regulations/restrictions as they see fit to
ensure flight safety, per THEIR judgement.

The GOVERNMENT'S main concern re cell phones
specifically - above and beyond the airlines' own
restrictions re potential interference with avionics -
has to do with the potential havoc this MIGHT raise
with the ground-based cell system (i.e., in-flight phones
talking to multiple "cells" simultaneously). And that's an
FCC issue, not an FAA one.

Bob M.




You didn't search properly. The FARs are not very specific when they don't
have to be. Look in part 91, the general prohibition, which includes, but
is not limited to, cell phones, is there.

As for Anthony, that ****ing moron can do his own searches.

In article ,
Benjamin Dover wrote:


You didn't search properly. The FARs are not very specific when they don't
have to be. Look in part 91, the general prohibition, which includes, but
is not limited to, cell phones, is there.

Actually, the one I read indicated that the FAA gave the airlines
the responsibility to ban transmitting Personal Electronic Devices (what
the FAA calls t-PEDs) as they saw fit.
http://www.dac.public.lu/documentati...s/AC91211B.pdf

The ban came from the
FCC.http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/cellonplanes.html

"Kurt Ullman" wrote in message
...
Actually, the one I read indicated that the FAA gave the airlines
the responsibility to ban transmitting Personal Electronic Devices (what
the FAA calls t-PEDs) as they saw fit.
http://www.dac.public.lu/documentati...s/AC91211B.pdf

Exactly the point. There is no blanket ban on "transmitting
personal electronic devices" per se on the FAA's part. For
instance, as a licensed amateur radio operator, it is perfectly
legal for me to operate, say, a handheld transceiver from an
aircraft in flight (and such operations are, in fact, conducted fairly
often - it's not really common, but it's definitely not unheard of)
AS LONG AS I HAVE THE PERMISSION OF THE
OPERATOR OF THE AIRCRAFT (i.e., the pilot in command
and/or the air carrier responsible). There are certainly strong
recommendations made by the FAA in this area, esp. relating
to use of such devices when the aircraft is in actual IFR conditions
or during the takeoff/landing phases, but to state that there's a
flat-out ban imposed by the FAA is just wrong.

Bob M.

Kurt Ullman wrote in
:

In article ,
Benjamin Dover wrote:


You didn't search properly. The FARs are not very specific when they
don't have to be. Look in part 91, the general prohibition, which
includes, but is not limited to, cell phones, is there.

Actually, the one I read indicated that the FAA gave the airlines
the responsibility to ban transmitting Personal Electronic Devices
(what the FAA calls t-PEDs) as they saw fit.
http://www.dac.public.lu/documentati...s/AC91211B.pdf

The ban came from the
FCC.http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/cellonplanes.html


The FAR does not include "transmiting" or "t-". The AC you referenced does
highlight the exceptions in the FAR. The FAR specifically exempt from this
prohibition the use of electric shavers, heart pacemakers, portable voice
recorers, and hearing aids. It also allows, in the case of air carriers,
the operator (ie. the airline) to make its own determination viz-a-viz
other PEDs. In the case of a non-air carrier operation, the PIC can make
this determination. But absent a specific determination permitting the use
of the PED, the FAR prohibits it's use.

I did my own informal tests on several club aircraft about 6 or 7 years
ago. The aircraft were parked where the localizer should be indicating a
nearly full left deflection and the glidslope should indicate a full up
deflection (ie. right of the runway centerline and below the glideslope).
Most aircraft showed no change when I used my cell phone. A few did. The
worst case was one aircraft which, with the cell phone on, showed a slight
right deflection on the localizer and a full down deflection on the
glideslope (ie. left of the runway centerline and above the glideslope).
In an approach to minimums, the erroneous glideslope deflection was bad
enough to very likely be fatal.

wrote:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...eb5b0.html?npc

Austin man charged after refusing to hang up cellphone during
Southwest Airlines flight
Monday, May 12, 2008
By SUZANNE MARTA / The Dallas Morning News

An Austin businessman was charged with disorderly conduct after he
allegedly refused to stop using his mobile phone on a flight Monday
from Austin to Dallas Love Field.

Dallas police met the plane after the pilot radioed ahead to the Love
Field tower. They cited Joe David Jones, 50, president of an Austin-
based environmental start-up company called Skyonic Corp., with the
Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500.

The incident occurred as a Southwest flight from Austin began its
descent into Dallas.

"After multiple requests, the flight attendants were not successful in
getting the passenger to get off the phone," Southwest spokeswoman
Brandy King said.

According to the police report, Mr. Jones was asked to turn off his
cellphone and responded, "Kiss my [expletive]." When asked again, he
said, "Kiss my [expletive]. Not happening."

According to the police report, Mr. Jones remained on the phone about
20 minutes. When officers met Mr. Jones at the gate, he continued to
exhibit disorderly conduct, police said.

Federal Aviation Administration regulations prohibit any use of mobile
phones except when the aircraft is on the ground. Airlines can be
fined up to $25,000 if they permit cellphone use during a flight, and
individuals also can face fines, Ms. King said.

Mr. Jones was unavailable for comment Monday, but his spokesman, Mark
Clayton, said the businessman had received a message that his father's
heart had stopped beating and tried several times to reach officials
in the cardiac unit where his father was being treated.


Like it mattered! Another dumb CEO! Play withyour toes
ceotard.




"He did express regrets for any inconvenience, but due to the life and
death circumstances, he felt he needed to make the call," Mr. Clayton
said.

Beth Harbin, a Southwest spokeswoman, said that although the carrier
sympathizes with Mr. Jones' situation, "it was a safety regulation
that we're required to enforce, and we're simply not in a position to
make exceptions."

Incidents involving passengers and cellphone use are relatively rare,
Ms. Harbin said. Southwest has recorded 26 incidents of mobile-phone
abuse so far this year, and only one of those escalated into a report
to the FAA.

While there have been high-profile examples of people using mobile
phones during a flight – such as during the Sept. 11 attacks – studies
have shown some potential for interference with an airplane's
navigation and communications systems.

In-flight cellphone use is also prohibited by the Federal
Communications Commission because of possible interference with
wireless networks on the ground. The FCC has considered lifting the
ban, beginning in 2004, but ended those discussions last year.

However, mobile-phone use has been approved by European regulators,
and a satellite-based service is being tested by Air France on one of
its Airbus A318 planes for flights within Europe and North Africa.

The airline Emirates launched service with a similar system on one of
its Airbus A340-300 airplanes in March and has said it will spend $27
million to equip its entire fleet.

In the U.S., demand for such a service has been relatively low. A
survey by Forrester Research showed less than 16 percent of travelers
wanted to make calls during flights, compared with 55 percent who
would like broadband Internet access.

Forrester analyst Henry Harteveldt said the use of mobile phones in
the cabin raises another risk: air rage.

"No one wants to sit next to a Chatty Cathy talking about their latest
conquest," he said.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://skyonic.com/directorsOfficers.php

JOE JONES, PRESIDENT AND CEO
Joe Jones, President and CEO of Skyonic, earned a BS in Chemical
Engineering from the University of Texas and spent the first 25 years
of his career in the semiconductor manufacturing industry, working at
Texas Industries, Cypress Semiconductors, and others. He participated
in the start-up and operation of five wafer-fabrication plants (TI,
AMD, and Cypress), the development of one of the first fabless
semiconductor companies (Ross Technology), and an independent
outsource semiconductor company he founded (BridgePoint Technical
Manufacturing). His credits include numerous contributions to the
chemistry of wafer-fabrication and semiconductor testing, and his goal
is to apply the low-energy lessons he learned in semiconductor
development to the problem of creating a low-energy method of
sequestering CO2. A businessman, as well as an engineer and an
environmentalist, Joe left his position as CEO of BridgePoint when his
belief in the need for clean, sustainable energy led him to begin
development of the SkyMine™ technology and found Skyonic Corporation
in 2005.

MARK CLAYTON, VICE PRESIDENT OF CORPORATE RELATIONS
Mark Clayton joined Skyonic as Vice President of Corporate Relations
in March of 2007 after spending almost 30 years in the semiconductor
industry where he worked in engineering, quality, marketing, and
sales. He is alumnus of Texas Instruments, Aeronca Electronics,
Silicon Materials Service, Rodel, and Wacker Siltronic. He has a BA in
Chemistry from Austin College and an MA in Education, and has also
worked as an educator. Mark is also a scout leader, and believes very
strongly in clean energy development to benefit the next generation.