The 5G interference and air safety problem is far from fixed

Why the recent changes to 5G only works for the big airlines, and 5G interference could still disrupt your next regional airline flight.

When President Trump decided to install former Verizon attorney Ajit Pai as head of the FCC and former Delta vice-president Steve Dickson as head of the FAA, some Democratic leaders were outraged.

One concern was potential government fealty to industry lobbyists. A key issue was the impact of 5G Verizon and AT&T cell towers that can potentially interfere with airline altimeters critical to multiple flight safety systems.

Unlike airports in Europe and the Middle East, these two carriers spent years refusing to mitigate potential 5G cell interference by creating antenna exclusion zones near runways, while also tilting nearby antennas away from arriving and departing aircraft and significantly reducing signal strength.

In January, after Pai was replaced by a Biden appointee, these two cell carriers agreed to delayed activation of this new 5G C-band service in the vicinity of 50 airports. While these exclusion zones were smaller than those placed around European airports, they were hailed by the FAA’s Dickson as an effective remedy.

The goal was to limit potential interference with altimeter-dependent automatic landing systems, fly by wire systems central to modern jets, flight directors critical for navigation, primary flight displays, stick shakers that warn of potential stalls, and envelope protection systems designed to prevent aerodynamic stalls. In a worst case scenario, such as a bad weather landing, all these unexpected and untrained for challenges could create a flight deck crisis.

Unfortunately the FAA’s fix for this problem fails to measure up to the tougher standard that has mitigated this problem in Europe.

Regional Airline Association (RAA) President and CEO Faye Malarkey Black neatly summarized the problem February 3 at a House Transportation and Infrastructure Comittee, Aviation Subcommittee Hearing.

“The impact on regional airlines has been especially pronounced. Because the negotiated safeguards against 5G interference are insufficient …more than half of the fleet remains restricted at dozens of airports. These restricted (regional) aircraft provide more than 130,000 monthly flights and the only source of air service to 27 airports.”
Ms. Black cited 5G related delays at Houston and Everett, Washington “where regional airlines were restricted from using radio altimeter to safely operate during periods of fog and noted instances where restricted fleet types provide more than one of three departures at key hub airports.

“Despite relatively fair weather in the first week of 5G deployment, regional airlines almost immediately experienced delays and cancelations due to weather that would not have restricted operations before the signal interference. Several notable examples occurred in the Pacific Northwest, including one Regional Airline Association member with a total of 63 5G related cancelations or delays between the January 19 rollout and January 31st.

“Lingering fog is a typical weather pattern in the area. When visibility drops below certain levels, no flights may operate. In other cases, the use of radio altimeters guides precision approaches to allow safe landings in certain categories of reduced visibility. Paine Field (PAE) in Everett, Washington, is served exclusively by the E175. Because of the proximity of the 5G tower to the runway, the E175’s AMOC (alternative method of compliance )at the time did not cover approaches into the main runway.

“Because this is the runway authorized for low visibility approaches, all flights in and out of the airport were cancelled on Monday, January 24th, shutting down air service to the airport specifically and directly because of the 5G runway restrictions.”

“The deployment of 5G around airports is the cause of potential disruptions and delays not faulty or defective radio-altimeters installed on regional aircraft. These radio-altimeters meet current regulatory and certification standards established by the FAA.
“Unfortunately, these standards became irrelevant when the FCC auctioned C-Band spectrum near the radio altimeter operating frequency without full consideration of the consequences.”

Security is also an issue. In the hands of a rogue government 5G could potentially be used to disrupt and disable aircraft. This means a cell tower could be used to threaten both military and civilian aircraft.

The best answer to these new challenges is to follow the European example and create larger permanent 5G exclusion zones around all American airports. This solution does something that the current FAA fix does not do. The current short term fix flies in the face of the FAA’s mission to safeguard the traveling public and does nothing to safeguard the smaller regional airlines. It would still potentially disrupt and endanger airline passengers.

Read the full text of Ms. Black’s remarks at the Feb. 3, 2022 Congressional Hearing Here: https://www.raa.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/2.3.2022_RAA-Testimony_Faye-Malarkey-Black_5G-Impacts-Hearing-FINAL.pdf

By Roger Rapoport and Captain Shem Malmquist.
Roger Rapoport is the coauthor of GROUNDED and Angle of Attack with Captain Shem Malmquist, a 777 captain and aviation accident investigator.