Ban on Laptops Planned in Airline Cockpits
After a Northwest/Delta Airline plane overshot Minneapolis by 150 miles, lawmakers decided to prohibit the use of computer laptops during commercial flights. The law may also ban the use of other personal electronic devices in an effort to prevent such mishaps in the future.
The chairman of the aviation committee, Sen. Byron Dorgan, was shocked to learn that pilots could carry items like DVD and mp3 players, cell phones and notebooks into their cockpits during flight. The only stipulation for their use was that the plane had to be below 10,000 feet while taking off or landing.
It is suspected that laptop use during flight caused a distraction that culminated in the Oct. 21 aviation incident where a plane carrying 144 passengers lost communication with a control tower for 91 minutes. The incident created so great a panic that US military and White House were placed on alert.
The two pilots responsible for the mishap were placed on suspension and the FAA revoked the pilots’ licenses pending investigation.
Senator Dorgan expects to introduce new legislation in about a week. The bill would make an exception for “electronic flight bags” only, which can contain navigational tools issued to pilots by some airlines.
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