RTCA Committee Updates PED Guidelines for Commercial Aircraft

April 4, 2006

RTCA Special Committee 202 (SC-202) updated its Guidance on Allowing Transmitting Portable Electronic Devices (T-PEDs) on Aircraft guidelines (Document DO-294A). The updated document provides additional explanatory information and clarified guidance, RTCA said.

The SC-202 was formed in May 2003 after the U.S. Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) requested RTCA establish a special committee to study and develop guidance related to the safe use of portable electronic devices (PEDs) on board air carrier aircraft.

The committee was designed to assess the impact and risks related to the use of PEDs - including mobile phones, wireless networks and other wireless-enabled devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) - passengers bring on commercial airplanes. The committee issued Phase 1 guidelines in October 2004, which offered guidance on the use of available PED technologies. DO-294A updates that original document.

The committee will complete Phase 2 guidance by December 2006, which will assess emerging PED technologies, such as ultra-wideband (UWB) devices, transmitting medical implant devices, active radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and pico-cells for telephone use on board aircraft.

Phase 2 calls for the committee to develop technical data to support the assessment of these emerging technology-based devices, which will likely be introduced in the future. The Phase 2 document also will define and recommend specific guidelines for aircraft design and certification to reduce PED-identified risks. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and other international regulatory standard bodies will support the committee's work to develop recommended design limit changes for consumer PEDs.

SC-202 guidance documents provide aviation regulatory authorities, aircraft operators, aircraft manufacturers, PED manufacturers and others with a means to determine acceptable and enforceable policies for PED use by passengers and crew, RTCA said.

A second document for aircraft design and certification guidance is scheduled for completion by mid-2007, according to RTCA.

Source: RTCA Inc.