IEEE Spectrum: Unsafe At Any Airspeed?
Bill Strauss is an expert in aircraft electromagnetic compatibility at the Naval Air Warfare Center and is the technical activities committee chairman for the IEEE Electromagnetic Compatibility Society.
He recently completed his Ph.D. on this topic in the department of engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh. M. Granger Morgan (IEEE Fellow) is head of Carnegie Mellon's department of engineering and public policy and a
professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering. JAY APT is a distinguished service professor in the department of engineering and public policy and a research professor at the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon. He is an active pilot and former NASA astronaut. Daniel D. Stancil (IEEE Fellow) is a professor in Carnegie Mellon's department of electrical and computer engineering.
Passengers must also be informed of the very real risks posed by their use of PEDs, especially on flights that use GPS approaches. Turkish Airlines' announcement is straightforward: "Mobile phones interfere with the flight instruments and have a negative effect on flight safety." The technical standards for GPS approaches could be modified to ensure that any loss of signal is immediately flagged to the crew, particularly during landings.
Taken together, the actions outlined above should enable regulators and the airline industry to better characterize and manage the risk that RF emissions from consumer electronics poses to aviation safety. In an industry that has eliminated or is effectively managing most large and obvious sources of danger,
such small but persistent risks warrant serious attention. At present, we believe that passenger use of electronics on board commercial aircraft should continue to be limited and that
passengers should not be allowed to operate intentionally radiating devices such as cellphones and wireless computer equipment during critical stages of flight.