EMMA KELLY / SEATTLE
Workshop arranged amid concerns over possible interference from mounting numbers of personal electronic devices
The World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA), along with the University of Oklahoma, will hold a wireless forum in Washington DC next month in a bid to decide an action plan to educate industry on the issues concerning the safe use of wireless personal electronic devices (PEDs) on board aircraft.
The move comes as concerns persist about the interference potential from passenger PEDs as increasing numbers of devices with embedded transmitters are brought aboard aircraft, and the emergence of in-flight e-mail and internet services delivered via passenger devices.
The issue has come to the fore following the US Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) recent approval of ultra-wideband (UWB) devices which have the potential to interfere with aircraft systems.
In a series of tests earlier this year NASA and United Airlines demonstrated that a UWB device interfered with avionics, including the traffic alert and collision avoidance system (Flight International, 18-24 June). UWB devices are not the only concern, however, with the UK Civil Aviation Authority, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways demonstrating in May 2000 that mobile telephone transmissions produce interference that exceed the susceptibility levels for some aircraft equipment.
"We want passengers to be able to use laptops [and other PEDs], but we want it done safely," says Mary Rogozinski, United Airlines manager of onboard systems planning and co-chair of the WAEA Technology Committee.
In-flight incidents continue to highlight the interference potential. On a United Airlines flight in early September a passenger was talking on a mobile telephone during approach when the pilot reported loss of localiser guidance on the flight directors, says Rogozinski. During an Austrian Airlines flight in August a passenger continued working on a laptop computer during aircraft descent and the pilot reported electromagnetic interference to VHF radio communications.
FCC regulations state that no PED can be used aboard an aircraft unless it has been approved by the airline and proved not to interfere with navigation or communication systems. Operators allow most PEDs to be used on aircraft during non-critical flight phases, but not during take-off and below 10,000ft (3,050m). FCC regulations also prohibit the use of mobile telephones while the aircraft is airborne. Enforcement of these regulations is left up to airlines, notes Rogozinski, adding that "airlines cannot be the policing entity".
Robert Dietterle, chief technology officer of Boeing Connexion, which is developing in-flight broadband internet and e-mail services to be accessed via passengers' laptops and PEDs, adds: "We want industry to work together to ensure future standards preserve aviation safety." Boeing has conducted extensive testing of in-flight PED use.
Source: Flight International
