FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the internet.

In the wake of the airline pilots of infamous Northwest Flight 188 telling National Transportation Safety Board investigators that they were out of touch with air traffic controllers and airline dispatchers because they were working with new crew scheduling programs on their laptops, Congress now is considering a ban on the use of laptops and personal electronic devices in airline cockpits.

The Flight 188 fiasco understandably has caused public concern. Indeed, the plane, transporting 144 passengers, was out of ground contact for 91 minutes. The government was so concerned that the military was preparing fighter jets for launch, and White House officials were put on alert, according to press reports. The plane went well past, Minneapolis, its destination, before a flight attendant reportedly advised the pilots of the situation.

Eric Sinrod is a partner in the San Francisco office of Duane Morris LLP (http://www.duanemorris.com) where he focuses on litigation matters of various types, including information technology and intellectual property disputes.  His Web site is http://www.sinrodlaw.com and he can be reached at ejsinrod@duanemorris.com.  To receive a weekly email link to Mr. Sinrod’s columns, please send an email to him with Subscribe in the Subject line.

This column is prepared and published for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice.  The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author’s law firm or its individual partners.

 

Related Resources:

  • The Police Get Hip to Twitter, but Is That a Good
  • Thing? (FindLaw’s Technologist)
  • Understanding e-Discovery Data Types and Collection
  • Costs (FindLaw’s Technologist)
  • Less Is More When It Comes to Multitasking (FindLaw’s
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