Typical: FAA Can't Explain Its Tech Rules and Regulations

From the New York Times:

Federal Aviation Administration [continues] to uphold a rule that is based on the unproven idea that a phone or tablet can interfere with the operation of a plane.  

These conflicts have been going on for several years. In 2010, a 68-year-old man punched a teenager because he didn’t turn off his phone. Lt. Kent Lipple of the Boise Police Department in Idaho, who arrested the puncher, said the man “felt he was protecting the entire plane and its occupants.” . . .  

Dealing with the F.A.A. on this topic is like arguing with a stubborn teenager. The agency has no proof that electronic devices can harm a plane’s avionics, but it still perpetuates such claims, spreading irrational fear among millions of fliers.