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Originally Posted by CCDMan
Interestingly, a study was done in 2003 of actual use. Turns out many a-holes just ignore the rules as proved by the on-board spectrum analyzers they flew.The opinion of the engineers was that cell phone use, at least, did represent a real hazard.
I know that if I am on a flight and see someone using a phone, I will reach for the call button as fast as my hand can move. |
100% agreed!
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What really needs to happen is the FCC needs to evaluate all gadgets for their air safety as part of the already required FCC certification and certify and label them as to whether they can be used in flight or not. So far this has not been done.
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That would be a good approach, but the trouble is that, as I and pricecw have pointed out - certification is far from foolproof. There are many reasons why emissions can vary between different firmware versions on devices, and it's certainly not usual for manufacturers to resubmit their products for recertification with each firmware release.
As well as that, any device which can run user-installed applications, be it a laptop or a smartphone or an iPod Touch or whatever, can have emissions which are dependent on the apps running. (Admittedly, the effect here is usually minimal, but isn't necessarily so.)
Having said that, certification is clearly part of the solution, along with bringing FCC and FAA requirements into line, more studies on the sensitivity of the planes' systems and work on improving their immunity levels.
/JB