RegisteredTraveler: August 2012

Nuc'ler

How about that.
Can't detect it on planes! That's, probably, the very definition of incompetent.

Turn that thing off!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: August 27, 2012
Contact: Brie N. Sachse
Phone: (202) 267-3883

FAA Announces Plans for Industry Working Group to Study Portable Electronics Usage

WASHINGTON – Given the widespread consumer use of portable electronic devices (PEDs), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is forming a government-industry group to study the current PED policies and procedures aircraft operators use to determine when these devices can be used safely during flight. Current FAA regulations require an aircraft operator to determine that radio frequency interference from PEDs are not a flight safety risk before the operator authorizes them for use during certain phases of flight.

“With so many different types of devices available, we recognize that this is an issue of consumer interest,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “Safety is our highest priority, and we must set appropriate standards as we help the industry consider when passengers can use the latest technologies safely during a flight.”

The government-industry group will examine a variety of issues, including the testing methods aircraft operators use to determine which new technologies passengers can safely use aboard aircraft and when they can use them. The group will also look at the establishment of technological standards associated with the use of PEDs during any phase of flight. The group will then present its recommendations to the FAA.

The group will not consider the airborne use of cell phones for voice communications during flight.

“We’re looking for information to help air carriers and operators decide if they can allow more widespread use of electronic devices in today’s aircraft,” said Acting FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. “We also want solid safety data to make sure tomorrow’s aircraft designs are protected from interference.”

The government–industry group, established through an Aviation Rulemaking Committee, will be formally established this fall and will meet for six months. It will include representatives from the mobile technology and aviation manufacturing industries, pilot and flight attendant groups, airlines, and passenger associations.

As the first step in gathering information for the working group, the FAA is seeking public input on the agency’s current PED policies, guidance and procedures for operators. The Request for Comments, which will appear in the Federal Register on August 28th, is part of a data-driven agency initiative to review the methods and criteria operators use to permit PEDs during flights.

The FAA is seeking comments in the following areas:

Operational, safety and security challenges associated with expanding PED use.

Data sharing between aircraft operators and manufacturers to facilitate authorization of PED use.

Necessity of new certification regulations requiring new aircraft designs to tolerate PED emissions.

Information-sharing for manufacturers who already have proven PED and aircraft system compatibility to provide information to operators for new and modified aircraft.

Development of consumer electronics industry standards for aircraft-friendly PEDs, or aircraft-compatible modes of operation.

Required publication of aircraft operators’ PED policies.

Restriction of PED use during takeoff, approach, landing and abnormal conditions to avoid distracting passengers during safety briefings and prevent possible injury to passengers.

Development of standards for systems that actively detect potentially hazardous PED emissions.

Technical challenges associated with further PED usage, and support from PED manufacturers to commercial aircraft operators.

The request for comments will go on display later this week at the Federal Register. Comments can be filed up to 60 days after the Federal Register publish date. View the document

Here.

Bag Search and Contents Display

Saturday Night Live Material.

Age 65 Issues

FAA Docs.

For your inner hampster

Gym Beats.

And

on a lighter note, if The Moody Blues and Tangerine Dream mated, this would likely resemble their love child, for your inflight listening pleasure, I give you

M83.

Jet Blue Fined

DOT 95-12
Monday, August 20, 2012
Contact: Bill Mosley
Tel.: (202) 366-4570

U.S. Department of Transportation Fines JetBlue for Not Informing Passengers of Opportunity to Leave Aircraft During Delay at Gate

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today said JetBlue Airways violated federal rules last March by not informing passengers on an aircraft delayed at New York’s JFK Airport that they had an opportunity to leave the plane as it sat at the gate with the door open. DOT fined JetBlue $90,000 and ordered the airline to cease and desist from further violations.

JetBlue violated a provision of the DOT’s new airline consumer protection rule requiring that if passengers on a delayed flight have the opportunity to leave the aircraft, the carrier must inform them that they can deplane. Announcements that passengers can leave the plane must come 30 minutes after the scheduled departure time and every 30 minutes afterward.

“Airlines may not leave passengers stranded indefinitely aboard an aircraft, whether on the tarmac or at the gate, and passengers must be told if they are able to leave the plane,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “At DOT, we are committed to protecting consumers when they travel by air, and will continue to take enforcement action when our rules are violated.”

On March 3, 2012, JetBlue Flight 645 was scheduled to depart New York’s JFK Airport at 7:30 p.m. and arrive at San Francisco at 11:16 p.m. local time. Boarding began at 7:06 p.m., but the flight was delayed and the doors to the aircraft did not close until 9:55 p.m. An investigation by DOT’s Aviation Enforcement Office found that passengers were not notified that they had the opportunity to leave the aircraft during this delay, even though the aircraft door was open and customers could have deplaned at any time. The Enforcement Office also found that JetBlue’s contingency plan for long tarmac delays did not contain the assurance, as required by the DOT rule, that passengers on delayed flights will receive notifications about the status of the delay every 30 minutes, including the reasons for the delay.

DOT’s new airline consumer protection rule, which took effect in August 2011, was adopted as part of the Department’s efforts to prevent passengers from being left for extended periods aboard aircraft. The new rule expanded DOT’s existing ban on tarmac delays of more than three hours on domestic flights, which took effect in April 2010, by adding a four-hour limit for tarmac delays on international flights operating at U.S. airports. Exceptions to the tarmac-delay limits are allowed only for safety, security, and air traffic control-related reasons.

The consent order is available on the Internet at

Regulations.
Use docket DOT-OST-2012-0002 as search term.