Different Airlines have been called out by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to replace cockpit displays of over 1,300 Boeing airplanes over issues of Wi-Fi interference.
The U.S. FAA ordered the replacement of cockpit displays used on Boeing's commercial airplanes like the 737 and 777 manufactured by Honeywell International, Inc.
The airlines will be given until 2019 to replace the Wi-Fi barring cockpit displays, according to the document filed by the FAA.
Furthermore, the expected cost of replacing all the cockpit displays is reported to be $14 million.
The FAA stated that the displays which monitor important information regarding the aircraft's speed and navigation, and altitude can be blocked by Wi-Fi frequencies.
Boeing also conducted an independent internal investigation regarding the issue.
The investigations made by both the FAA and Boeing revealed that the cockpit displays were affected by nearby Wi-Fi devices as the displays went blank when the Wi-Fi devices are being used.
Aside from that, the FAA reported that the cockpit displays made by Honeywell International are also affected by transmissions from mobile phone, weather radar and mobile satellite communications.
The FAA also added that the displays are readily affected by radio frequency transmissions from Wi-Fi at levels below the certified levels, which could lead to crashes.
Steve Brecken, spokesman from the Honeywell International contradicted the issue at hand and stated that none of their cockpit display products have blanked during flight because of Wi-Fi interference.
The FAA said it will release the order to replace all cockpit displays made by Honeywell International within 35 days "to prevent loss of flight-critical information displayed to the flightcrew during a critical phase of flight, such as an approach or takeoff, which could result in a loss of airplane control at an altitude insufficient for recovery, or controlled flight into terrain."
