Researchers Back AFA-CWA Concerns Over Onboard Cell Phones

A research team from Carnegie Mellon University published findings this month bolstering the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA's assertion that use of cell phones on planes while in the air is dangerous.

Alarmingly, despite the fact that cell phone use currently is banned during flight — although the Federal Communications Commission is urging that the ban be lifted — the researchers found that passengers in fact do violate the ban right now. The investigators boarded 37 passenger flights with equipment that measures radio frequency emissions, and they detected that passengers were making between one and four cell phone calls per flight.

The group's research into the effects of personal electronic devices on aircraft electronic systems, according to the Kansas City Star, prompted a warning that "continued use of radio frequency emitting devices such as cell phones will, in all likelihood, someday cause an accident by interfering with critical cockpit instruments."

The team noted that a NASA database of pilot incident reports cited 125 cases where interference from personal electronic devices affected aircraft navigation systems and other cockpit controls.

Last year, AFA-CWA President Pat Friend testified against lifting the ban before a hearing of the U.S. House Aviation Subcommittee, and the union also submitted a filing to the FCC warning of both technical hazards and increased "air rage" incidents if cell phones are allowed during flight.

The Carnegie Mellon study was published this month in a technology magazine, IEEE Spectrum.