By Dan Namowitz

Source: AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association)

https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2021/may/20/aviation-safety-in-focus-as-fcc-expands-5g

The wireless communications industry has a “deficient level of understanding” of the threat to radar-altimeter system operation and flight safety posed by “flexible” uses of the 3.7 to 3.98 GHz band, a concern that should prompt the Federal Communications Commission to reconsider its policy of repurposing the C-band, a coalition of aviation organizations said in a regulatory filing.

The risk of harmful interference with radar altimeters that operate in the band just above that frequency range could have been avoided if the wireless-industry trade group CTIA participated in a technical assessment performed by a multi-stakeholder group of the aviation technical advisory organization RTCA, wrote AOPA and 19 other groups in a May 12 letter to the FCC.

“As a result, any use of the conclusions by CTIA performed without the support of rigorous technical analysis are dangerous for the Commission to consider,” the aviation groups said, defending RTCA’s findings on C-band mobile telecommunications interference with radar altimeter operations.

The letter was filed in response to a March 2020 FCC order in which the FCC noted that “by licensing only up to 3.98 GHz as flexible-use spectrum, we are providing a 220-megahertz guard band between new services in the lower C-band and radio altimeters and Wireless Avionics Intra-Communications services operating in the 4.2-4.4 GHz band.”

The letter added that CTIA’s position “actually underscores both the need for the Commission to grant the pending Petition to Ensure Aviation Safety and the urgency for the Commission to work with the Federal Aviation Administration… to develop appropriate mitigations before 3700-3980 MHz operations commence in December 2021.”

Read more at: https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2021/may/20/aviation-safety-in-focus-as-fcc-expands-5g

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By: Valerie Insinna and Aaron Mehta, December 21 at 5:00 AM

WASHINGTON — As part of a broader move to boost the 5G industry in the United States, the Federal Communications Commission on Dec. 8 began auctioning a portion of C-band electromagnetic spectrum, a move the committee’s chairman, Ajit Pai, celebrated as “a big day for American consumers and U.S. leadership in 5G.”

But, in the weeks leading up to the auction, more than a dozen commercial aviation groups warned the sale could, as one study put it, lead to “catastrophic failures” with the potential for “multiple fatalities.”

At the core of the concerns are radar altimeters, a critical piece of aviation technology used by military, commercial and civil aircraft of all types — including helicopters and unmanned aerial systems — to measure the distance between an aircraft and the ground.

The aviation groups worry that 5G operations on the spectrum sold by the FCC could cause interference that would provide inaccurate readings on altimeters or cause their failure outright, in essence leaving pilots unaware of how far they are from the ground and potentially leading to crashes over the United States.

Read more at: https://www.defensenews.com/2020/12/21/the-military-is-scrambling-to-understand-the-aviation-crash-risk-from-a-new-5g-sale/

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By Todd Shields, Alan Levin, and Helene Fouquet December 7, 2020, 7:31 PM GMT+2Updated on December 8, 2020, 12:42 AM GMT+2

• Study warns of interference with electronics on airliners
•  FCC says use of airwaves is safe and will open auction Tuesday

A plan to redeploy spectrum for super-fast 5G wireless networks is sparking concern among aviation safety experts that it could result in interference with the electronics on aircraft, potentially leading to crashes.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is scheduled to begin an auction on Tuesday for airwaves in the so-called C-band frequencies that are used by satellite providers but the agency wants to re-assign for 5G. The agency says the sale is an important step in maintaining U.S. leadership in the next generation of wireless service.

But some fear that assigning the frequencies to ground transmitters near airports that will be used for 5G networks could interfere with electronics used by aircraft as they land.

Read more at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-07/plane-crash-risk-seen-rising-on-fcc-plan-to-expand-5g-spectrum?fbclid=IwAR32n1nncy6JvN1Y_3CgHqf4tzU

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Spatial disorientation among US air force pilots has been linked to 72 severe accidents, 1993-2013, with 101 deaths and 65 lost aircraft. Now DARPA wants to know whether RF in combat cockpits may be at least partly to blame. New project is called ICEMAN.

Source: https://microwavenews.com/short-takes-archive/iceman

September 15, 2020

Spatial disorientation among U.S. Air Force pilots has been linked to 72 severe accidents between 1993 and 2013, resulting in 101 deaths and the loss of 65 aircraft. Now DARPA, the defense department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency, wants to know whether RF radiation in the cockpit of combat aircraft may be at least partly to blame.

Under the new initiative, with the acronym ICEMAN, DARPA is seeking a contractor to measure the electromagnetic fields inside cockpits, especially signals between 9 kHz and 1 GHz and then determine whether they might affect the performance of pilots. ICEMAN is short for Impact of Cockpit Electro-Magnetics on Aircrew Neurology.

In its request for proposals, DARPA states that, “Current cockpits are flooded with RF noise from on-board emissions, communication links, and navigation electronics, including strong EM fields from audio headsets and helmet tracking technologies.” The agency notes that current tactical audio headsets project magnetic fields that are up to 10 times the strength of the Earth’s magnetic field —that is, approximately 5 G (0.5 mT). 

Read more at: https://microwavenews.com/short-takes-archive/iceman

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Excerpts:
There is evidence of adverse effects on human health and performance from exposure to electro magnetic radiation, especially radio frequency/microwave radiation from mobile communication technology.So the position that the “low level” exposures from WiFi and mobile phones are within government standards (based only on thermal levels) does not dismiss the evidence of biological damage that occurs with non
thermal exposure levels.

Who will be monitoring accumulated exposures? Is anyone monitoring WiFi enabled aircraft to track the flight crew and passengers for potentially related occurrences /symptoms in flight?

Hans Scheiner, MD
Environmental Medicine Expert
“Equipping aircraft with WiFi is a dangerous experiment.
Even quite low levels of radio frequency radiation from WiFi and mobile devices can open up the blood brain barrier and cause a lot of harm,including miniature edemas detroying brain cells which cannot be renewed. This damage presents an increased risk of neurodegenerative conditions including Parkinson’s.
Electro hypersensitivity (EHS) is another is another issue.People with this condition may faint,feel dizzy or their vision might be impaired.People may also experience nausea,lack of concentration, muscle weakness and skin reactions.”

Professor Wilhelm Mosgoeller, PhD University of Vienna “Wrong responses were given within shorter time periods (experiments with healthy human subjects and RF exposure)”

Professor Olle Johansson, PhD of the Karolinska Institute “chromosome damage, impact on the concentration capacity, and decrease in short term memory.”

Cardiologist Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D., F.A.C.C. “We know that the heart is sensitive to,and can be adversely affected by the same frequency used for WiFi (2.4 GHz)at levels a fraction of federal guidelines (less than 1%).I would like to see tests on pilots for potential cardiac and cognitive effects.”

COMMERCIAL PILOTS MAY BE EXPERIENCING WiFi RELATED SYMPTOMS
Captain for a Canadian commercial air carrier: “The number of airline employees this year
including pilots and flight attendants,who report having difficulty with WiFi seems to be growing – (I suspect  sustained WIFI environment and in proximity of cell phones on board aircraft)mysterious Parkinson like symptoms, ill effects including nausea,shortness of breath,overall body weakness, difficulty focusing.”

EMR/RF Technical Expert Peter Sierck: concerned about increased RF exposure to the passengers sitting in seats closest to the routers in airplanes,and cabin staff members.

Dirty Electricity under passenger seat of airplane

PILOTS, SCIENTISTS QUESTION WIFI TIED TO PLANE CRASHES & CARDIAC SYMPTOMS

PILOTS, SCIENTISTS QUESTION WIFI TIED TO PLANE CRASHES & CARDIAC SYMPTOMS

Please see Catherine Frompovich’s article: Airlines Flight Crews Pollution Sickness Syndrome

Airlines Flight Crews Pollution Sickness Syndrome

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