Cells Aloft/Adrift
• Airlines Compete for Inflight Internet
• Cell Phones Invade Qantas, Emirates Air
• Study Warns Cell Phones Could Cause Airliner Crash
• Cell Phones Go to Sea
• FAA Leery Of Cell Phone Use On Airliners
• Feds Want to Eavesdrop on Airborne Internet Users
• Astronomers Worried About Cell Phones on Airliners
• Survey Warns of Air Rage
• In-Flight Cell Phone System Survives Test Flight
• FCC Moves Ahead on Airborne Wireless Voice and Data
Lifting the current ban on use of cell phones aboard airliners couldpose the risk of a major accident, according to a new engineeringstudy.
The study by Carnegie Mellon University researchers has foundthat cell phones and other portable electronic devices, like laptopsand game-playing devices, can pose dangers to the normal operation ofcritical electronics on airplanes.
The study will be featured in anarticle appearing in the March issue of IEEE Spectrum.
"We found that the risk posed by these portable devices is higher thanpreviously believed," said Bill Strauss, who recently completed hisPh.D. at Carnegie Mellon.
"These devices can disrupt normal operation of key cockpit instruments,especially Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, which areincreasingly vital for safe landings." Strauss is an expert in aircraftelectromagnetic compatibility at the Naval Air Warfare Center inPatuxent River, Md.
With support from the Federal Aviation Administration, three majorairlines and the Transportation Security Agency, researcherscrisscrossed the northeast United States on commercial flights,monitoring radio emissions from passenger use of cell phones and otherelectronic devices.
They tracked these radio emissions via a broadbandantenna attached to a compact portable spectrum analyzer that fit intoan innocuous carry-on bag.
"A laptop computer controlled the system and logged the data," saidresearcher Granger Morgan. "While we looked primarilyat wireless phones, we also discovered that emissions from otherportable electronic devices were problematic."
The researchers found that on average one to four cell phone calls aretypically made from every commercial flight in the northeast UnitedStates. Some of these calls are made during critical flight stages suchas climb-out, or on final approach. This could cause accidents, theinvestigators report.
Both Strauss and Morgan, along with Carnegie Mellon researchers Jay Aptand Dan Stancil, recommend that the Federal Communications Commission(FCC) and the FAA begin to coordinate electronic emission standards.
At the moment, there is no formal coordination between the two federalagencies. The researchers also recommend routine monitoring of on-boardradio emissions by flight data recorders and deploying speciallydesigned tools for flight crews to monitor passenger use of electronicdevices during final approach.
While the FCC recently suggested that it might be appropriate to allowpassengers to use cell phones and other electronic devices onairplanes, Morgan disagrees.
"We feel that passenger use of portable electronic devices on aircraftshould continue to be limited for the safety of all concerned," Morgansaid.
