Many Air Passengers Never Turn Off Electronics, Survey Finds

In a study by two industry groups, the Airline Passenger Experience Association and the Consumer Electronics Association, as many as 30 percent of all passengers said they had accidentally left a device on during takeoff or landing.

About 67 percent said they had never done this, always ensuring that their electronics were turned off. Four percent were unsure. In another segment of the study, passengers were asked if they turn their devices to “off” when instructed to do so by the pilot. Although 59 percent of passengers said they do fully turn their electronics off, 21 percent said they often simply switch to “airplane mode,” which disables the main radios of a gadget. Five percent sometimes adhere to the rule. And others were either unsure or do not carry electronic devices on a plane. The device most often left on is the smartphone, the study found. The study found that four out of 10 passengers would like to use their devices during all phases of flight, including takeoff and landing.