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FEATURE
Cell Phones, Wi-Fi and Portable
Electronics on Aircraft
Provided by FAA Sources
If you’ve flown with a commercial air- FAA regulations prohibit use of most PEDs after the plane reaches 10,000 feet.
line, you know the drill. Turn off all portable electronic devices aboard aircraft, At a lower altitude, any potential interfer-
pagers, electronic games, MP3 and CD but they specifically exempt portable ence could be more of a safety hazard as
players, laptops and the like once the voice recorders, hearing aids, heart pace- the cockpit crew focuses on critical arrival
cabin door is closed, until the plane gets makers and electric shavers because they and departure duties.
above 10,000 feet. No using cell phones at don’t give off signals that might interfere
any time while the plane is in the air. But with aircraft systems.
Cell Phones: A Different Animal
do you know the real reasons why you The regulations also let airlines inde- Cell phones (and other intentional trans-
have to follow these rules? pendently determine if passengers can use mitters) differ from most PEDs in that they
PEDs not specifically mentioned by the send out signals strong enough to be re-
It’s A Safety Thing
rules. An airline must show a device does ceived at distances far away from the user.
There are still unknowns about the ra- not interfere with safe operation of the air- Since 1991, the Federal Communica-
dio signals that portable electronic devices craft during all phases of flight. In its tions Commission (FCC) has banned the
(PEDs) and cell phones give off. These oversight capacity, the FAA ensures that in-flight use of 800 MHz cell phones be-
signals, especially in large quantities and the operator complies with regulations by cause of potential interference with
emitted over a long time, may uninten- reviewing the results of the carrier’s tests ground networks. This ban requires that
tionally affect aircraft communications, and its analysis of pertinent data. in addition to the testing the FAA require
navigation, flight control and electronic The FAA has issued guidance to air- showing non-interference to the airplane
equipment. lines letting passengers turn on most systems, an airline would also need to ap-
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