The biggest safety threat facing airlines today may not be a terrorist with a gun, but the man with the portable computer in business class. In the last 15 years, pilots have reported well over 100 incidents that could have been caused by electromagnetic interference. The source of this interference remains unconfirmed, but increasingly, experts are pointing the blame at portable electronic device such as portable computers, radio and cassette players and mobile telephones.
如今，航空公司面临的最大安全威胁可能不是持枪的恐怖分子，而是商务舱里拿着便携式电脑的人。在过去的15年里，飞行员报告了100多起可能由电磁干扰引起的事件。这种干扰的来源尚不确定，但专家们越来越将责任归咎于便携式电子设备，如便携式电脑、收音机和盒式磁带播放机以及手机。
RTCA, an organization which advises the aviation industry, has recommended that all airlines ban such devices from being used during “critical” stages of flight, particularly take-off and landing. Some experts have gone further, calling for a total ban during all flights. Currently, rules on using these devices are left up to individual airlines. And although some airlines prohibit passengers from using such equipment during take-off and landing, most are reluctant to enforce a total ban, given that many passengers want to work during flights.
RTCA，一个为航空业提供咨询的组织，已建议所有航空公司禁止在飞行的“关键”阶段，特别是起飞和降落阶段，使用此类设备。一些专家更进一步，呼吁在所有飞行期间全面禁止使用此类装置。目前，关于使用这些设备的规定由个别航空公司决定。尽管一些航空公司禁止乘客在起飞和降落期间使用这些设备，但考虑到许多乘客希望在飞行期间工作，大多数航空公司不愿意执行全面禁令。
The difficulty is predicting how electromagnetic fields might affect an aircraft’s computers. Experts know that portable device emit radiation which affects those wavelengths which aircraft use for navigation and communication. But, because they have not been able to reproduce these effects in a laboratory, they have no way of knowing whether the interference might be dangerous or not.
困难在于预测电磁场如何影响飞机的计算机。专家们知道，便携式设备发射的辐射会影响飞机用于导航和通信的波长。但是，由于他们无法在实验室中重现这些影响，他们无法知道这种干扰是否危险。
The fact that aircraft may be vulnerable to interference raises the risk that terrorists may use radio systems in order to damage navigation equipment. As worrying, though, is the passenger who can’t hear the instructions to turn off his radio because the music’s too loud.
飞机可能很易受干扰的事实增加了恐怖分子使用无线电系统破坏导航设备的风险。然而，同样令人担忧的是，乘客因为音乐太吵而听不到关闭无线电的指示。
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