Date:June3,2011 InterferenceAndYourFlightSafety Theonethingyoureally,reallywantthepilottoknowisthis:Wheretheheckarewe? Inthemid80sIwasflyingtoTokyoandhadtheopportunitytositupfrontwiththepilotsforan hour.HalfwayacrossthePacific,theJALpilot,aSwede,hadonelegacrossthearmrestandwaschatting amiablyaboutaviationmatters.Thecopilot,anovice,wasJapaneseandhehadhisseatforward,white knuckledhandsgrippingthewheel,staringunmovingoutthewindscreen,eyesflickingthehorizon.The copilotasked,Wherearewe?Thepilotresponded,Wellknowsoonenoughwhenwepickupthe Alaskabeacon.WhathemeantwasthehomingsignalemanatingfromtheFAAradiotransmitternear AnchorageAlaska.Upuntilthen,wingingacrossthePacific,at35,000feet,with350passengersaboard, thejumbowasdeadreckoning;asortofaviationequivalentofpointitinageneraldirectionandhope youareright. Sureenough,about10minuteslatertheLoranradioreceiverpickeduptheradiosignalfromAlaska andtoldthemtheywere150milesoffcourse.Timetocorrectcourse,saidthePilot.Thecopilot askedforaheading,wasgivenone,andbankedtheplane.

SecondslatertheFAAairtrafficcontrolcame onthecockpitspeakersandsaidtheyweregladtheplanewasturningtocorrectbackontothefiled flightplan.Thepilotradioedback,Rogerthat,andwentbacktochattingwithme. Isitanywonderthen,thatwhenGPSunitsbegantobewiredintoflightcockpitcontrolsthatairlines werehappier?Herewasadevicethatreceivedahandfulofweakradiosignalsfromspace,thousandsof milesabovetheearth,eachsatelliteblippingcodedinformationtoeachairplanereceiverandallthat couldbecomputedbythereceivertotelltheplaneexactly,towithin20feet,wherethehecktheywere. Thefuelsaving,thepassengersafety,theFAAairtrafficcontrolendofnightmarerogueplanes,and, neverleast,thestressreducingforpilotswasimmense.Bythemid90severycommercialplanehada GPSunitaboard. However,thereisoneimportantthingtoremember,noonetrustedthemontheground.Onthe ground,taxiingatairports,eyesandradiocontrolfromthetallairporttowerwereconsideredsafer. Why?Becauseintheair,withradarmakingsureplanesstayatleast1,000feetawayfromeachother, andonboardTCAS(collisionwarningdevices),the20feetmarginofaccuracyofGPSwasverysafe.On theground20feetwasdeemedtoodarnedcloseforcomfortinacrowdedairport.Thathasnow changed.Withcutbacksatairports,cutbacksattheFAAforairtrafficcontrollers(whydidyouthinkthey werefallingasleep?Onemantodothejobofpreviouslythreemen),andeverincreasinglybusy

airports,GPShasbecomethesecondlineofdefenseagainstgroundcollisionandtrafficcontrolsnewest toolonwhichtorely(tomakefurthercutbacks). So,letusturntothepassengerwhoisdesperatetofireuphisorhersmartphone.Surely,onelittle phonecannotdisruptanyofthatGPSsafety,canit?Well,yesitcanandyesitdoes.Evenifyoursmart phonedoesnothaveGPS(theyalldo,butyoucanturnthatoff,sometimes,unlessitisaniPhone),the talkingfrequenciesthatusedtobefortelevisionhavebeensoldtothephonecompanies.Heardof3G and4G?ThosewereoldTVfrequenciessoldofftothehighestphonecompanybidder.Theproblemis, thosefrequenciesaresmackdabrightupagainsttheGPSfrequenciesandlittletransmitters(yoursmart phone)aremessytransmittingdevicesthatsprayandstrayintotheGPSfrequencyarena. Wanttoknowhowa747canclipthetailofasmallercommuterplane?TheGPSlostsignalfora momentandtheplanewasmisdirectedforafewsecondsoffcourse.Bang!Howdidthathappen?So far,allanyoneknowsisthattheGPSunitwentoffcalibrationforafewseconds. SanjivAhujaisthechairmanandCEOofLightSquared,acompanybuildingahugespacebased nationwide4Ghighspeedwirelesssystem.OverthenexteightyearsLightSquaredwillinvest$14billion indevelopingthisnetwork.Sanjivsayshiscompany'swirelessnetworkcanworkwiththeGPSindustry tofindasolutiontointerference.Notethathesayshecanfindaway,notthatthereisnoproblem already.Heknowsthereis,aseriousproblem.Yousee,eachphoneisatransmitter,whichishisreal worry.HecanmakehisspacesatellitepinpointaccuratesoasnottointerferewithGPS,butheknows thatgroundunitsyourphonearecheap,quicklymade,frequencypigs.Well,theyhavetobe,tobe affordable.Ifyourphonewasaprecisiondeviceitwoulddoubleinprice,atleast.Thosearetherealities here. So,nexttimeyouseesomeoneswitchingontheirphoneinflightorjustafterlanding,remember theyhavejustputyourlifeinjeopardyanddosomethingaboutit.Itdoesnotjusttakeaterroristto bringdownaplane;allittakesisoneignorantbroadcastersittingnexttoyouwhileyoudonothing.