Football Player Wrist Slapped for iPod Use on Plane
Santonio Holmes. CC-licensed, thanks SteelCityHobbies on Flickr.
New York Jets wide receiver Santonio Holmes created a flap on a flight from Newark to Pittsburgh by using his iPod during landing.
Authorities filed an “incident report” on Holmes — he was not formally charged with violating FAA regulations on the use of personal electronic devices (PEDs) during flight.
Holmes got off easy, one unlucky iPhone user was detained after keeping the device in airplane mode.
The first reports from two Pittsburgh-area television stations said Holmes was escorted off the plane after being “disruptive.”
A later police statement makes it sound like he just forgot to turn it off (confession: this has happened to me at least once). “He was asked to remove his iPod (at one point), in which he complied,” Allegheny County police said.
The FAA regulations state that keeping cell phones, MP3 players and computers turned off during takeoff and landing is “a safety thing:”
There are still unknowns about the radio signals that portable electronic devices (PEDs) and cell phones give off. These signals, especially in large quantities and emitted over a long time, may unintentionally affect aircraft communications, navigation, flight control and electronic equipment.
Even this teeny peccadillo warranted questions from reporters at a press conference:
Coach Ryan said he was not happy to have to stand at a podium and address questions about this incident. “I mean, OK, let’s face it, he should turn off his iPod,” he said. “That’s what he should do. He should do that. I haven’t had a chance to talk to Santonio, but he certainly should do that.”
Nicole Martinelli is a San Francisco native who has lived in Milan and Florence, Italy. She's written for Wired.com, The New York Times and Newsweek. You can find her on 
