The results of a 2003 study into the use of portable electronic devices aboard aircraft were published a couple of years ago in Spectrum, the magazine of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. According to the article, "our research has found that these items can interrupt the normal operation of key cockpit instruments, especially Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, which are increasingly vital to safe landings. Two different studies by NASA further support the idea that passengers' electronic devices dangerously produce interference in a way that reduces the safety margins for critical avionics systems."

The article also cites anecdotal evidence from NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) database:

"In one telling incident, a flight crew stated that a 30-degree navigation error was immediately corrected after a passenger turned off a DVD player and that the error reoccurred when the curious crew asked the passenger to switch the player on again. Game electronics and laptops were the culprits in other reports in which the crew verified in the same way that a particular PED caused erratic navigation indications."

The authors "found 125 entries in the ASRS database" that reported interference by passenger electronics.