Ask the Captain: When must cellphones be off on a flight?

— -- Question: Hi Captain Cox, I just got off a US Airways flight. The flight attendant told the girl beside me twice to turn off her cellphone. She finally hid it from the attendant's view and blatantly continued to use it posting on Facebook, playing music and reading the screen the entire flight. She obviously didn't care who else saw her because she was only hiding it from the attendant. My question is this - as a fellow passenger, what should I have done? I vaccilated back and forth between pushing the attendant button to "tattle" on her and just confronting her myself. In the end, I did nothing. Now I am questioning whether I should have done something differently. What should you do when you see someone else violating the FAA regulations? Thank you!

—submitted via e-mail

Answer: This is a difficult question. The issues surrounding the use of portable electronic devices are problematic and have generated many comments in this column. If this passenger were smoking onboard, many passengers and crew members would quickly demand her compliance with the regulations. From a legal perspective there is no difference, there is a requirement that she comply with the Federal Aviation Regulations. If you are aware of a violation then it is appropriate to inform a flight crew member. While you characterize it as "tattling," it is taking steps to inform the proper people of a potential safety and regulatory violation issue.

Q: I have a question regarding cellphone use prior to leaving the gate. The typical announcement that I hear is that you may use cellphones until the jet door is closed. I recently got into a disagreement with a flight attendant who wanted me to discontinue my call (prior to the door being closed- and after that same announcement) because she wanted to have a discussion about the emergency exit. I was on the phone notifying my family that I was going to be two hours late. I ignored the FA's request because had I not done so, I would not have had a ride home from the airport. Are there legal rights of a passenger when the door is open vs. when it is closed? I told her that it was an important call but she persisted and ordered me out of the exit row.

— submitted by reader Arghhh

A: Without knowing the specifics of the incident, it is difficult to comment. The flight attendant has a responsibility to brief the passengers in the emergency exit row prior to pushback. Exactly where that conflicts with cellphone usage is not clearly defined, to my knowledge. It is unfortunate that you and the attendants were unable to resolve the situation without you having to move.

John Cox is a retired airline captain with U.S. Airways and runs his own aviation safety consulting company, Safety Operating Systems.