[ican'tbelieveit]

I think the language on that report was misleading. I read that to mean that people waiting on passengers on that plane were sending messages to the passengers, not the other way.

[ican'tbelieveit]

Looking up sources for the original article, it is now being denied. And there was much discussion on here about the ability to send messages via conventional cell phones.

[The Flying Dutchman]

I saw those discussions: the passengers had sattelite phones, not normal cel phones. A lot of international travelers have them, apparently; business connections for frequent overseas corporate types.

[aruanan]

where did you see this?

I heard a report on ABC news on WLSAM radio saying that passengers aboard the doomed airliner called friends and relatives to say goodbye minutes before it went down.