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Comment by icey | Hacker News Reader

I didn't notice anything requiring that window blinds must be closed though; it doesn't really seem to me that it would be too hard to just look out the window and figure it out.

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Closing all the windows is dangerous because the pilots have no way of seeing the wings. If there was damage, gas leak, fire on the wing a passenger or flight attendant needs to see it and alert the pilots.

For example: http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123149266

It would be pretty easy to slip a gps antenna behind the shade before you closed it as well.

Personally, I find it impossible to even venture a guess as to what my location is just by looking out the window at cruising altitude. It becomes much easier during final descent, but it still requires familiarity with the location. In any case, an attacker will have nowhere near the precision provided by GPS.

Passengers, beyond curiosity, have very little use for GPS during a flight. When I'm on a plane I could really care less what my location is. I'm more concerned with how much longer I have to wait before arriving at my destination.

The parts of the security directive that bother me most are the restrictions on access to carry-on belongings and items on your lap and not being able to get up from the seat.

Maybe he'll just use a chronometer.

Actually, I believe that it's an FAA regulation that the window shades stay open on emergency exit doors. I've never been on a flight where the flight attendants allowed those shades to be closed (even partially).

Do those doors still have shades if they're never allowed to be closed?

All planes that I've ever been on have had shades, likely for the same reason that you still occasionally see ashtrays (although slightly different since they're usually screwed shut) on planes. The price to disable/retrofit simply isn't worth it to the airlines. Again, I'm not 100% sure that it's an FAA regulation - do we have any pilots/flight attendants on HN who could weigh in?

The regulation isn't applicable to the entire flight; it's perfectly ok to pull your blind down midway over the atlantic on a red-eye, for example.

Or just buy a ticket to a major area, figure out what the transit time will be, and pop the cork at T-5 minutes or something....

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