Loading...According to the reports of U.S. government officials there was a safety issue due to cell phones and other radio signals. They could lead to a crash threat of some aircraft, for instance, Boeing 737 and 777.
As the Federal Aviation reports there used to be approximately 1,300 jets in the U.S. with their cockpit being equipped with screens sensitive to radio signals. They could be interfered by Wi-Fi, cell phones and even outside weather radars. Airlines had time till November 2019 to substitute the equipment made by Honeywell International. But about 70 aircraft which require to have their cockpit screens repaired are still operating. Misleading data on speed, altitude and navigation could go blank and lead to uncontrolled flight.
A Honeywell representative claims not to have any reports of screens going blank amid flights because of radio signals interference. Honeywell together with airlines do insist that there could unlikely be any safety issues.
But the FAA reports there were safety risks due to inappropriate data received from a vendor.
During a laboratory testing by Boeing in 2012 there was only one case of the issue in question. Honeywell knows about the incident with all the six screens going blank in a 737 cockpit. But the cause of the problem was a software fail not cell phones or other devices signals.
The FAA did not specify the amount of radio signals which could lead to a safety issue. According to Tim Wilson, a professor from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, a big number of cell phones on any aircraft may be a real issue. They emit signals and together they increase the chance of interference. Some airlines allow to switch their phones to airline mode which enables Wi-Fi transmissions. But they operate at high power level so it is still a threat.
