A minute later on, the controller connected with contact info for the Boston-area air traffic control service center that would deal with the Spirit aircraft’s descent and landing. (134.0 is the frequency for DXR 19, the control group which manages traffic coming out of the New York city location and heading into Boston.)

“Spirit 1300: Boston Center, 134.0.”

After no instant action, the controller chastised the pilots once again.

“I gotta talk to you twice every time,” he stated, then duplicated: “Boston 134.0.”

When Spirit 1300 lastly acknowledged the frequency, the controller got in one last dig before passing them on.

“Pay attention!” he stated. “Get off the iPad!”

We have no concept if the Spirit pilots were in fact sidetracked by an iPad, naturally, however tablets have actually been vital to pilots for many years. As far back as 2019, a trade publication kept in mind that, “in aviation, iPads are to pilots what cellphones are to drivers. While many of us learned how to fly without an iPad, we now can’t imagine flying without it. It has become our source of weather data, our flight planner, our notam checker, our weight and balance calculator, and our map—all in one. While it has the power to make us radically more informed, organized, and safer, iPads, like cellphones, have considerable drawbacks when not used thoughtfully.”

The Spirit aircraft landed securely in Boston.