In the aftermath of the two distracted Northwest Airline pilots that overshot Minneapolis by 150 miles, some law makers have started crafting bills that may be used in a larger aviation schemes to set national standards for keeping electronic devices in the cockpit.
The pilots were out of communication for 91 minutes, and claimed to have been working on a crew scheduling program.
Currently, there is no law within the country that forbids the use of laptops, DVD players, or MP3 players unless pilots are taking off, landing, or within 10,000 feet of the ground. Delta, however, does have a policy for electronic items, and since the carrier owns NWA, it had begun an investigation on the two pilots that veered off course.
Senator Byron Dorgan (D-D.N.) is a chairman of an aviation subcommittee and would like to introduce a bill in one week that addresses the prohibition of laptops, DVD players, and other electronic devices, except for “flight bags” which hold electronic navigational devices.
© Cheapflights Ltd Andrea Mooney
