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Device Finds Illegal Cellphones on Airplanes

September 1, 2006

Airline Safety • American Cancels More Fights For Safety Checks • Key Lawmaker Wants FAA 'Housecleaning' • FAA To Review All Airline Maintenance Procedures • Southwest Grounds 41 Airplanes, Suspends Three Workers • Problems Found With Wing Bolts On Four U.S. Planes • TSA Adds Security Checks for Airport Employees • FAA Says Many U.S. Airports Short On Safety • New Device Finds Illegal Cellphones on Airplanes • Laptop Fires Worry Airline Safety Regulators • New System Reduces Risk of Runway Collision • Study Warns Cell Phones Could Cause Airliner Crash • Inspector General Hits Outsourced Airline Maintenance • Air Controllers Cite Close Calls In Los Angeles • Air Controllers Warn Equipment Glitch Affects Safety • Report Questions Airline Safety • Cell Phones on Planes - Survey Warns of Air Rage • Air Travel Still Risky, Pilots Warn • Airlines Outsourcing More Maintenance • Pilots Blast Airport Security

A Massachusetts company BINJ has developed a "cell phone detection system" that it's promoting to airlines concerned about passengers using cell phones in flight.

BINJ Labs of Quincy, Mass., says its "CellScan" system could accurately track the location and signal of any cell phone used at any time during a flight. It originally developed the system to help corrections officials locate cell phones being illegally used in their facilities,

Real-time signal tracking and reporting would help crew members locate passengers using cell phones and other prohibited devices.

A Northwest Airlines flight was recently diverted because of suspicious cell phone use by passengers and a British Airways flight had to return to Heathrow 90 minutes after take-off because no one confessed to using a cell phone even though crewmembers heard a phone ringing.

"If the FAA wants to provide passengers with the freedom to use cell phones, but protect travelers and empower airlines with the information they need to minimize risk, using a system that alerts airline personnel where and when a cell phone is activated with the ability to disable it is a viable option," says BINJ Labs CEO Joe Noonan.

This type of system should include a visual alert of cell phone activity inside bathrooms, cargo areas and throughout the aircraft including times when a "no cell phones" sign is activated. Airlines could then choose when to enforce cell phone restrictions and, if necessary, disable phones.

Until recently, concern about cell phone use centered around potential interference with aircraft navigation systems. But now, security officials fear that cell phones could be used to coordinate terrorist activities, and could even be used to detonate explosive devices.

Illegal cell phone use in prisons is being called prison systems' No. 1 technological problem.

"Cell phone use within prisons is one of the biggest problems facing the corrections industry, and concern is growing nationally," said Alex Fox, director of security technology for the Massachusetts Department of Corrections. "(Using a cell phone) criminals are continuing their criminal activities inside, or planning escapes or contacting victims on the outside."

The Federal Bureau of Prisons approached BINJ founder Joe Noonan last year, looking for a way to curb illegal cell phone use inside jails and prisons. Noonan scoured his industry contacts, and when he couldn’t find an effective solution, he leaned on his experience in electronics surveillance and countermeasures and decided to come up with a product himself.

BINJ Labs expects to receive institutional funding through the Small Business Administration and other entities that could go as high as $5 million, Noonan said.

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