4. What About The Passengers And Their Cell Phones?
Unless someone onboard had a satellite cell phone, nobody would have been able to utilize their devices to send out messages. Cell phone towers operate primarily in close proximity to the ground. The higher up one goes, the less of a signal they get. In the case of an aircraft, anything remotely close to radar-detection level would be too high to get a cellular signalmuch less a standard cruising altitude. The aircraft did not have wi-fi capability, so that also rules out the possibility of sending messages through means other than a cellular network. Cell phones can be tracked, but typically only if they are somewhere on the carriers network. Once outside, they become virtually impossible to track. In the event of a hijacking, one would have to assume that disabling cell phones would be a top priority, as they would once again become active near ground-level. If everyone willingly gives them up, this would be a straightforward process that would require either the destruction of the phone, or removal of the SIM card. But does anyone honestly believe such a scenario?
