Originally Posted by
Global_Hi_Flyer
The problem is that you can't get enough EMI power generated from a portable device with a battery power supply over a long enough period of time to get the results you're talking about. Now, I'm not saying it would be completely impossible to incapacitate an airliner, but the equipment required to do so would be large, bulky, and require more energy than can be carried on an airliner, even as cargo.
You've got a very restrictive set of assumptions. First: solid-state. Well, I think I'd use a spark gap. Very intense very broadband energy. Second: batteries. The AC outlets at the seats would work over as many charge-discharge cycles as it took.
Other than that, I agree that it would be possible to incapacitate an airliner from inside, because the field strength would be orders of magnitude greater than those reaching the airplane from nearby transmitters on the ground. Inverse square law.