In USA Today’s “Ask the Captain” column, a reader challenged in-flight electronics rules, questioning whether electronics with low EMF emissions, such as electronic book readers, cell phones and computers, interfere with in flight instrumentation. The reader points out that American flights with GoGo inflight wireless access points are enabled throughout the flight. From takeoff to landing these wireless access points are continuously operating and emitting their wireless signals. The concern of the FAA is that an electronic emitter could cause unintended consequences to navigation receivers or other aircraft systems, saidJohn Cox, a retired airline captain with U.S. Airways who runs his own aviation safety consulting company. Ongoing changes in electronics make it very difficult to test all the devices to ensure their safety, and during some phases of flight, the navigation system is more sensitive than others, Cox said. “An example is during an approach for landing using the Instrument Landing System (ILS). The display uses microvolts to displace a needle showing the extended centerline of the runway. As the airplane flies the ILS course, the needle becomes more sensitive (think of it as a cone with the top of the cone at the runway).”The FAA has developed criteria for electronic devices proving their safety, but it is much more difficult for the FAA to evaluate the effects of the use of untested electronics. Hence, the ban on all electronic devices below 10,000 feet.Learn more from USA Today.
Retired Captain Answers Challenge to In-Flight Electronics Rules
