Action Violated Electronic Device Regulation

A passenger on a Delta Airlines flight last month who recorded a bird strike minutes after takeoff received a warning from the FAA to abide by the regulations or face a future penalty. Grant Cardone was on a flight headed for Los Angeles on April 19 when the aircraft encountered a flock of birds causing the right engine to shut down. The aircraft subsequently made an emergency landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport with no injuries reported. Cardone caught the incident on camera in violation of the regulation requiring electronic devices be turned off during critical phases of flight.

After an investigation the FAA sent Cardone a letter which said "We have given consideration to all of the facts. In lieu of legal enforcement action (a civil penalty), we are issuing this letter which will be made a matter of record for a period of two years, after which, the record will be expunged. Your failure to comply during a critical phase of flight and an aircraft emergency could have affected the safe outcome of the flight."

The FAA’s position is that the rule is meant to prevent interference with the aircraft's navigation and communication systems. Cardone was a guest of Soledad O’Brien’s  on CNN Wednesday and responded with "If truly these devices, phones, iPads are that dangerous, the FAA has a responsibility to ban them from planes, Cardone said."If these electronics are dangerous to the American public, ban them from the planes today."

FMI: www.faa.gov