Faa, Gadgets | featured news

The power switch on your favorite e-reader sure gets a workout on flights, thanks to government rules that require electronics to be turned off during takeoffs and landings, but that could change soon. The FAA may announce within months that it will ease those regulations, allowing reading devices to stay on in “airplane mode,” The New York Times reported Sunday, citing unnamed sources who work with a panel formed to study the issue.

On Tuesday, the Federal Aviation Administration said that pilots on American Airlines flights will be officially allowed to use iPads instead of paper flight manuals in the cockpit, just a few feet from the most critical avionics on a plane, even during takeoff and landing.

Airlines should create and enforce policies to ensure that pilots focus on flying their planes safely instead of being distracted by laptop computers and other devices, the Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration said Monday.