Debate rages over passenger electronics affecting aircraft systems

The regional airliner was climbing past 2,700 metres when its compasses went haywire, leading pilots several kilometres off course until a flight attendant persuaded a passenger in the ninth row to switch off an iPhone.

"The timing of the cellphone being turned off coincided with the moment where our heading problem was solved," an unidentified co-pilot told Nasa's Aviation Safety Reporting System about the 2011 incident. The plane landed safely.

Public figures from US Senator Claire McCaskill to actor Alec Baldwin have bristled at what they say are excessive rules restricting use of tablets, smartphones, laptops and other devices during flights.

But more than a decade of pilot reports and scientific studies tell a different story. Government and airline reporting systems have logged dozens of cases in which passenger electronics were suspected of interfering with navigation, radios and other aviation equipment.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in January appointed an advisory panel from the airline and technology industries to recommend whether to broaden electronics use in planes.

Laboratory tests have shown some devices broadcast radio waves powerful enough to interfere with airline equipment, according to Nasa, aircraft manufacturer Boeing and the UK's Civil Aviation Authority.