Smokychimp
28th May 2003, 06:34
While flying from Phoenix to New York last week, I was working on my laptop and as the plane began to adjust its course, my computer screen went a little haywire. This set me to thinking of the warning “please shut off electronics devices” that cabin crews give at the beginning of every flight, and to consider the following scenario.
If I understand correctly, planes with electronic flight instrument systems, such as the Airbus 320, do not have a mechanical connection between the cockpit and steering systems such as elevators and ailerons. Instead, electronic transmissions travel from the pilot’s sidestick, for instance, to the control surfaces through shielded low impedance electric cables. I took a look at Airbus’s literature which notes they've tested this system against exterior threats such as electrical interference from thunderstorms.
However, I wonder what the danger to such a system would be from a more deliberate internal attack, something that might not have been considered at the time these were designed. Could it be feasible that a device such as a military-grade electronics jammer could be brought on board, for example hidden in a laptop, and used to temporarily disable the communications from the flight control computer? I would think that the right choice of moment might put the plane out of control catastrophically. In your opinion, are commercial jets sufficiently shielded from a deliberate electronic attack?
And if there is no possibility of this, why the cabin crew warning?
Sorry if this is only my overactive imagination, but I live downtown in New York City...
If I understand correctly, planes with electronic flight instrument systems, such as the Airbus 320, do not have a mechanical connection between the cockpit and steering systems such as elevators and ailerons. Instead, electronic transmissions travel from the pilot’s sidestick, for instance, to the control surfaces through shielded low impedance electric cables. I took a look at Airbus’s literature which notes they've tested this system against exterior threats such as electrical interference from thunderstorms.
However, I wonder what the danger to such a system would be from a more deliberate internal attack, something that might not have been considered at the time these were designed. Could it be feasible that a device such as a military-grade electronics jammer could be brought on board, for example hidden in a laptop, and used to temporarily disable the communications from the flight control computer? I would think that the right choice of moment might put the plane out of control catastrophically. In your opinion, are commercial jets sufficiently shielded from a deliberate electronic attack?
And if there is no possibility of this, why the cabin crew warning?
Sorry if this is only my overactive imagination, but I live downtown in New York City...