Oct 19, 2022 05:57 PM
(This post was last modified: Oct 19, 2022 06:23 PM by C C.)
https://spectrum.ieee.org/faa-5g
EXCERPTS: . . . All three incidents—and many more this year—were linked by pilots to problems with the aircrafts’ radio (radar) altimeters, which pilots rely on during takeoff and landing, and to help avoid crashing into mountains. [...] complaints of malfunctioning and failing altimeters soared after the rollout earlier this year of high-speed 5G wireless networks, which use similar frequencies.
ASRS is a public database maintained by NASA to encourage U.S.-based air and ground crew, and air traffic controllers, to anonymously share safety incidents and concerns. Between January and May, there were 93 reports of faulty or failing radar altimeters, where a normal year might see only a handful. January alone saw almost twice as many complaints of malfunctioning altimeters as the previous five years combined. In most, including the Tennessee and Los Angeles incidents above, the reporter referred to 5G interference.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission initially played down concerns [...] The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration was not so certain. It commissioned an empirical study ... to assess the operational risks of 5G interference. That report concluded that C-band 5G systems would cause harmful interference to radar altimeters on all types of civil aircraft, and that “this risk is widespread and has the potential for broad impacts to aviation operations in the United States, including the possibility of catastrophic failures leading to multiple fatalities.”
[...] On 19 January, the 5G systems were switched on. Almost immediately, complaints began rolling into NASA...
[...] “I was predisposed to think the implementation would be a non-event and was surprised to experience actual interference events,” reported another pilot, who suspected a malfunctioning altimeter had caused their plane’s auto-throttle to disengage.
[...] “I've been flying an aircraft with a radar altimeter for years and never once have I seen a malfunction such as this until the 5G turn on,” wrote another pilot in Florida, whose altimeter fluctuated between -90 and 400 feet prior to takeoff. “Coincidence? Probably not.”
But could it be? Chris Rudell is an associate professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Washington. “I’d sleep like a baby [on a plane] that flew over a 5G base station at full power output,” he told Spectrum. “Probably something happens that’s unusual and the pilots attribute it to 5G but maybe it’s not attributable to 5G. After everything in the news, they’re now submitting what they actually see, whereas before they perhaps weren't motivated to do that.”
[...] The agency [FFA] has reviewed over half of the reports, and was unable to rule out 5G interference in around 80 incidents. Contrary to the ASRS reports, none of the interference events identified by the FAA had any safety-related system impacts [...] The FAA has concluded that the mitigations it had agreed with wireless providers “are working.”...
Although altimeter complaints on ASRS seem to be declining, many pilots still want tighter controls on 5G technology... A few pilots were less diplomatic when sharing their views anonymously. “Shutdown [sic] 5G until carefully vetted,” suggested one. “Delay implementation of 5G service until all issues with radar altimeters and transport category aircraft have been dealt with,” wrote another. A third simply pleaded: “Turn off 5G cell service near airports.” (MORE - missing details)
EXCERPTS: . . . All three incidents—and many more this year—were linked by pilots to problems with the aircrafts’ radio (radar) altimeters, which pilots rely on during takeoff and landing, and to help avoid crashing into mountains. [...] complaints of malfunctioning and failing altimeters soared after the rollout earlier this year of high-speed 5G wireless networks, which use similar frequencies.
ASRS is a public database maintained by NASA to encourage U.S.-based air and ground crew, and air traffic controllers, to anonymously share safety incidents and concerns. Between January and May, there were 93 reports of faulty or failing radar altimeters, where a normal year might see only a handful. January alone saw almost twice as many complaints of malfunctioning altimeters as the previous five years combined. In most, including the Tennessee and Los Angeles incidents above, the reporter referred to 5G interference.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission initially played down concerns [...] The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration was not so certain. It commissioned an empirical study ... to assess the operational risks of 5G interference. That report concluded that C-band 5G systems would cause harmful interference to radar altimeters on all types of civil aircraft, and that “this risk is widespread and has the potential for broad impacts to aviation operations in the United States, including the possibility of catastrophic failures leading to multiple fatalities.”
[...] On 19 January, the 5G systems were switched on. Almost immediately, complaints began rolling into NASA...
[...] “I was predisposed to think the implementation would be a non-event and was surprised to experience actual interference events,” reported another pilot, who suspected a malfunctioning altimeter had caused their plane’s auto-throttle to disengage.
[...] “I've been flying an aircraft with a radar altimeter for years and never once have I seen a malfunction such as this until the 5G turn on,” wrote another pilot in Florida, whose altimeter fluctuated between -90 and 400 feet prior to takeoff. “Coincidence? Probably not.”
But could it be? Chris Rudell is an associate professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Washington. “I’d sleep like a baby [on a plane] that flew over a 5G base station at full power output,” he told Spectrum. “Probably something happens that’s unusual and the pilots attribute it to 5G but maybe it’s not attributable to 5G. After everything in the news, they’re now submitting what they actually see, whereas before they perhaps weren't motivated to do that.”
[...] The agency [FFA] has reviewed over half of the reports, and was unable to rule out 5G interference in around 80 incidents. Contrary to the ASRS reports, none of the interference events identified by the FAA had any safety-related system impacts [...] The FAA has concluded that the mitigations it had agreed with wireless providers “are working.”...
Although altimeter complaints on ASRS seem to be declining, many pilots still want tighter controls on 5G technology... A few pilots were less diplomatic when sharing their views anonymously. “Shutdown [sic] 5G until carefully vetted,” suggested one. “Delay implementation of 5G service until all issues with radar altimeters and transport category aircraft have been dealt with,” wrote another. A third simply pleaded: “Turn off 5G cell service near airports.” (MORE - missing details)