FRAMINGHAM, Mass.-Aviation officials and electronics experts are debating whether portable electronic devices, including cellular phones and pagers, should be banned during airline flights, according to an investigation conducted by Computerworld newspaper.
“The needs of power laptop users and the desire of airline companies to keep business travelers happy are colliding with the fears of electronics experts,” said Maryfran Johnson, executive editor of Computerworld.
“But these experts are split on how to resolve the problem. Some are saying laptop users need only to shut down machines during take-off and landing-others want to ban the use of these devices entirely during the flight.”
The electronics experts involved in the discussion maintain the radiation and electromagnetic fields emitted by these devices can interfere with the radio spectrum used by flight controls.
Even low levels of radiation emitted by laptops, cellular phones, pagers and transistor radios can be transmitted through the plane to the flight deck, sometimes interfering with and distorting signals received by the plane’s antennas, they say.
Pilots have reported 137 incidents of interference connected with portable devices since 1982, according to the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics Inc.
