Capt. Steve Rogers Issues an Apology
Alec Baldwin is the kind of Hollywood guy that pisses some folks off. Sometimes it’s his incredibly vocal political opinions or, a few years back, his really bad behavior during his divorce from Kim Basinger. Just last week, he got kicked off an American Airlines flight for playing Words With Friends on his smartphone after the pilot had closed the cabin doors.
Still, no matter how much you respect authority and hate the terrorists, almost everyone with a Kindle or a Blackberry or an iPad secretly wonders how dangerous their device could be when the plane is parked on the runway waiting 2 hours for a takeoff slot. Still Alec showed up on Saturday Night Live to apologize. To himself.
Appearing as American Airlines pilot “Captain Steve Rogers,” Baldwin presses the point. Do we really need to all turn off our devices until the plane reaches 10,000 feet? And is the point any less valid when you think the guy making it is kind of a jerk? And how would Captain America feel about all of this?
Under the Radar is commentary. We don’t report the news; we offer our take on what happened.
6 Comments
Kudos to Alec. Incompetent airlines need stuff like this stuck to them. They should also be reminded that are indeed customers. They can **** in one hand and demand apologies from Alec in the other and see which they get first.
It may sound stupid of me to bring up a T.V. programme into this arguement but did anyone else out there see the episode of Mythbusters which addressed the subject of whether (or not) personal electronic devises affect aircraft systems?
The guys (& gal) on that programme did a pretty good job on finding out & guess what.…..everything they tried didn’t have ANY affect on ANY system whatsoever.
So what’s going on? Was it the case that earlier systems could be affected dangerously & rules brought in to protect life, rules that may well need looking at now that aircraft systems have come along as far as they have?
Whatever is the case, the attitude shown by SOME flight crew needs looking at & maybe those I refer to should be reminded that they are talking to customers, some like Mr Baldwin who have paid very high prices for the “pleasure” of being bullied by someone who should have much more important things to deal with other than trying to score some cheap personal publicity at the expence of a PAYING CUSTOMER.
@ Chuck… You flip out, stomp around like a 5 year old and cuss like a sailor, guess what… you’re getting the boot. Why should this self-entitled d-bag make me sit in the plane while he acts like a moron and delays the push-back?
@ Dayrell… with all due respect to a reality TV show of special effects guys using antiquated analog instruments in a GA aircraft, as someone who works as an avionics engineer I can tell you that certain devices will effect certain systems. Does it make sense for the flight attendant to stand up there and go through a laundry list of which brands, models, features, and versions of personal devices can be used or not used? No. Turn them off until the plane is airborne or landed. The test on Mythbusters was laughable, by the way, as any sort of legitimate case study.
I will fly with jumper! I can tell you that he is 100% right! If you are(or are around) AT&T Cell Phone users you will not immediately that radios, televisions, and many other standalone electronic devices pick up “noise” and “chatter” from the AT&Ts cell phone signal. I have a new digital stereo in my ATV made by Sony. It is compatible with the iPhone and can be plugged into the iPhone as if you were putting it away to charge. You can then tuck the phone safely away into the stereo and play it as an MP3 player. This thing really picks up some bad cell phone chatter!!! All in all…I feel a lot safer flying with everything in the OFF POSITION!!!
I thought the whole thing was frikkin hilairious–especially the clip. I fly a lot and I NEVER turn off my phone! Tip to Alec, here’s what I do: First I text everyone in my robust contact list with the following– ‘Pls call me ASAP! I might be busy, so if I dont answer just keep calling!’ Then I set the phone to vibrate, stick it down my pants and relax and enjoy!
I’m tired of celebrity spoiled brats getting this kind of air time. Personal electronic devices interfere with the avionics of the aircraft. Simple enough. Can’t we get along without that Blackberry, iphone, etc. for the duration of the trip without going through withdrawl?