Study: Cellphones can impact cockpit devices

[Shizuka]

I don't think the FAA will allow cellphones on airplanes.


Study: Cellphones can impact cockpit devices
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Talking on cellphones or using laptops on an airplane could disrupt cockpit operations, especially global positioning devices that are increasingly being used to help land planes safely, according to a new study.
Researchers monitoring flights in the Northeast found that several cellphone calls are typically made on commercial flights during takeoff or final approach, two critical flight stages when accidents could occur.

The research at Carnegie Mellon University was led by Bill Strauss, an expert in aircraft electromagnetic compatibility at the Naval Air Warfare Center in Patuxent River, Md.

Researchers monitored radio emissions from passengers on three airlines with the support of the Transportation Security Agency. The emissions were tracked using a broadband antenna that was attached to a portable spectrum analyzer in a piece of carryon luggage.

Granger Morgan, head of Carnegie Mellon's Department of Engineering and Public Policy Department, said the activity recorded shows that the use of electronic devices should be limited on airplanes.

Morgan said the disruptions are enough to impact a plane's navigation or other systems.

"I think it's fair to say there has never been an accident that you can clearly say was caused by electromagnetic interference," said Granger Morgan, head of the university's Department of Engineering and Public Policy Department.

The study, which received support from the Federal Aviation Administration, is being published in the March issue of the technology journal IEEE Spectrum.

Airline passengers are instructed to turn off all their portable electronic devices during a plane's landing and takeoff. Once a plane has reached 10,000 feet, airlines generally allow passengers to use laptops or game devices.

The FAA bans cellphone use during any part of a flight.

Some airlines, however, permit the use of newer phones in what is called airplane mode, which disconnects the telephone from the wireless network but allows users to access other features of the phone.

The Federal Communications Commission has commissioned a private, independent firm to study in-flight use of cellphones. The results of the study are due by the end of the year.

The researchers at Carnegie Mellon have recommended that the FAA and FCC work together to investigate in-flight use of cellphones. Also, the researchers recommended on-board radio emissions be monitored regularly by flight data recorders.

[Yankees368]

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1035_22-6044901.html

Severe accidents could be the consequence of airline passengers defying the cell phone ban and making calls while flying, a new study has shown.

Despite the U.S. ban on cellular calls on airplanes, air travelers have a hard time keeping their hands off their mobiles and often make calls during critical stages of the flight such as final approach, according to a research team from Carnegie Mellon University.

As part of the study, released Monday, the research team filled their hand luggage with a broadband antenna and spectrum analyzer and boarded random airplanes crossing the Northeast United States. Picking up signals from cell phone calls onboard, they found that an average of one to four calls are made on every U.S. commercial flight.

"These devices can disrupt normal operation of key cockpit instruments, especially Global Positioning System receivers, which are increasingly vital for safe landings," Bill Strauss, an expert in aircraft electromagnetic compatibility at the Naval Air Warfare Center in Patuxent River, Md., and one of the researchers who conducted the study, said in a statement.

Strauss said risks are caused by radio emissions from cellular calls that are higher than previously believed.

The tests were aimed primarily at tracking emissions from cell phones, but they showed that other electronic equipment used on planes, such as laptops and game devices, also send out potentially harmful signals.

The report adds to the debate that was generated last June after the Federal Communications Commission proposed lifting its 1991 cell phone ban, letting passengers use their phones and other electronic devices while flying.

The ban was originally put in place to prohibit calls aloft from interfering with cell phone conversations on the ground and planes' radio communications, a risk that the FCC claimed might be outdated thanks to technical developments.

But lifting the ban is a bad idea, according to the Carnegie Mellon researchers. They recommended instead designing special tools for flight crews to track the use of electronic devices during critical stages of the flight.

The FCC proposal at the time elicited negative reactions from the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, which expressed concerns that wiretapping guidelines would not be met.

The FCC said its move was triggered by the public's wish to make calls while flying, but not all air travelers agree. A National Consumers League survey last year showed that most passengers want to keep the ban in place, to avoid annoyance from yapping seat neighbors and trouble hearing emergency announcements.

The ban could be lifted as early as the end of this year.