United pulls the plug on laptops

In mid-May, the captain of an American Airlines Airbus A300 en route from London to Boston decided to divert the flight to Shannon, Ireland, after sparks flew around one of the plane's in-seat power outlets, according to a spokesman for American.

Mechanics discovered that wiring had chafed against the underside of the seat. Nobody was injured, but it is believed to be the most serious in-flight incident stemming from a malfunction of such gear.

The unscheduled landing caused American, a unit of AMR Corp., of Dallas, to step up scrutiny of potential hazards posed by the proliferation of power ports.

Spokesman John Hotard said the carrier is in the midst of a months-long effort to check the safety of laptop outlets throughout its 700-plane fleet and plans to come up with design changes to make certain the outlets' wiring can't be accidentally damaged by vibration or by passengers' carry-on bags. The goal is to "minimize the risk of it happening again," Hotard said.

Around the same time, related concerns about the potential for electrical malfunctions and wiring damage prompted United to bar laptop recharging on its 777s. United officials said they won't reconnect the units until certain wiring fixes are completed, expected by around the end of the year.

The 777s represent a small portion of United's fleet, but they are preferred by many business travelers because of their design and amenities. The rest of United's fleet isn't affected.

Taken together, the moves likely will rekindle the debate over potential hazards and necessary safeguards for laptop power ports, which increasingly are being installed on commercial aircraft as a way to attract business travelers who want to plug in during long flights.

Even before the Shannon incident, federal regulators were prodding American and other carriers to recheck the wiring of various in-cabin devices, including laptop ports and entertainment systems, and ensure that they were properly installed.

Neither airline has announced its actions, but the specifics were confirmed by spokesmen. From the time the power devices were first proposed in 1996, they have prompted controversy among carriers, regulators and industry standard-setting groups.

In 1998, for example, representatives of leading battery makers sent warning letters to the Federal Aviation Administration and 20 airlines, contending that equipment failures could result in elevated battery temperatures, noxious fumes and even fires on board aircraft. Pilot-union leaders in the past also have raised some of the same concerns.

In response, airline executives have maintained that the hookups feature redundant safety devices and until now, emphasized that there wasn't a single hazardous in-flight incident.

Airlines around the world are making large investments to install laptop-recharging outlets on newly ordered aircraft and to retrofit existing planes, though regulators and industry standard-setting groups have failed to agree on minimum safety standards.

In United's case, the airline acted after a maintenance check revealed that wiring for the in-seat power outlets was improperly routed too close to other wires that run along the top of the cabin on 777s and are designed to supply backup power to various parts of the aircraft.

Officials of the UAL Corp. unit said there haven't been any reports of incidents, electrical shorts or malfunctions involving their 777 laptop ports, adding that they turned the ports off out of an abundance of caution.

No other big carrier has taken such significant steps, industry officials say.

Under certain circumstances, lack of adequate separation can result in sparks or shorts jumping between damaged or chafed wires, and safety experts say that can increase the dangers of overheating and potentially even lead to fires.

In the past year, industry officials said, there have been at least three other incidents on big U.S. carriers when a laptop or the adaptor that plugs into the seat either heated up or shorted out during a flight.

Those earlier problems provoked less concern, because they appeared to be caused by substandard devices brought on board by individual passengers.

Louis Mancini, vice president of engineering and technical support at United, said in an interview that the Chicago carrier took action "in order to be ultrasafe and ultraconcerned" about the issue of wiring safety.

Mancini said that United last month turned off all the power ports on 24 of its 42 long-range 777s, used on routes from the U.S. to Europe and South America. The other 18 haven't yet had the equipment installed. Mr. Mancini said United has inspected other aircraft models and hasn't found such wiring problems.

"We are just being extremely proactive," Mancini said, adding that the decision was entirely voluntary. An FAA spokesman didn't have any immediate comment.

United's strategy risks alienating loyal customers, some of whom choose flights based on the availability of laptop recharging. Dennis Bunsold, a top-tier United frequent flier, recalled a flight on May 10 when the ports on the 777 weren't operating. "A cabin attendant said it was due to a fire hazard," he said.

On another United flight in June, Bunsold again asked the cabin crew and was told they were cut off due to "a design error." Mr. Bunsold now vows to avoid United's 777s until the ports are hooked up again: "I'm on the Internet right now trying to reschedule to a 767," he said. Escalating safety concerns about the systems that power passengers' laptop computers on aircraft have prompted United Airlines to shut off all such devices on its Boeing 777 jets and American Airlines to step up inspections and launch a fleetwide rewiring effort.

In mid-May, the captain of an American Airlines Airbus A300 en route from London to Boston decided to divert the flight to Shannon, Ireland, after sparks flew around one of the plane's in-seat power outlets, according to a spokesman for American.

Mechanics discovered that wiring had chafed against the underside of the seat. Nobody was injured, but it is believed to be the most serious in-flight incident stemming from a malfunction of such gear.

The unscheduled landing caused American, a unit of AMR Corp., of Dallas, to step up scrutiny of potential hazards posed by the proliferation of power ports.

Spokesman John Hotard said the carrier is in the midst of a months-long effort to check the safety of laptop outlets throughout its 700-plane fleet and plans to come up with design changes to make certain the outlets' wiring can't be accidentally damaged by vibration or by passengers' carry-on bags. The goal is to "minimize the risk of it happening again," Hotard said.

Around the same time, related concerns about the potential for electrical malfunctions and wiring damage prompted United to bar laptop recharging on its 777s. United officials said they won't reconnect the units until certain wiring fixes are completed, expected by around the end of the year.

The 777s represent a small portion of United's fleet, but they are preferred by many business travelers because of their design and amenities. The rest of United's fleet isn't affected.

Taken together, the moves likely will rekindle the debate over potential hazards and necessary safeguards for laptop power ports, which increasingly are being installed on commercial aircraft as a way to attract business travelers who want to plug in during long flights.

Even before the Shannon incident, federal regulators were prodding American and other carriers to recheck the wiring of various in-cabin devices, including laptop ports and entertainment systems, and ensure that they were properly installed.

Neither airline has announced its actions, but the specifics were confirmed by spokesmen. From the time the power devices were first proposed in 1996, they have prompted controversy among carriers, regulators and industry standard-setting groups.

In 1998, for example, representatives of leading battery makers sent warning letters to the Federal Aviation Administration and 20 airlines, contending that equipment failures could result in elevated battery temperatures, noxious fumes and even fires on board aircraft. Pilot-union leaders in the past also have raised some of the same concerns.

In response, airline executives have maintained that the hookups feature redundant safety devices and until now, emphasized that there wasn't a single hazardous in-flight incident.

Airlines around the world are making large investments to install laptop-recharging outlets on newly ordered aircraft and to retrofit existing planes, though regulators and industry standard-setting groups have failed to agree on minimum safety standards.

In United's case, the airline acted after a maintenance check revealed that wiring for the in-seat power outlets was improperly routed too close to other wires that run along the top of the cabin on 777s and are designed to supply backup power to various parts of the aircraft.

Officials of the UAL Corp. unit said there haven't been any reports of incidents, electrical shorts or malfunctions involving their 777 laptop ports, adding that they turned the ports off out of an abundance of caution.

No other big carrier has taken such significant steps, industry officials say.

Under certain circumstances, lack of adequate separation can result in sparks or shorts jumping between damaged or chafed wires, and safety experts say that can increase the dangers of overheating and potentially even lead to fires.

In the past year, industry officials said, there have been at least three other incidents on big U.S. carriers when a laptop or the adaptor that plugs into the seat either heated up or shorted out during a flight.

Those earlier problems provoked less concern, because they appeared to be caused by substandard devices brought on board by individual passengers.

Louis Mancini, vice president of engineering and technical support at United, said in an interview that the Chicago carrier took action "in order to be ultrasafe and ultraconcerned" about the issue of wiring safety.

Mancini said that United last month turned off all the power ports on 24 of its 42 long-range 777s, used on routes from the U.S. to Europe and South America. The other 18 haven't yet had the equipment installed. Mr. Mancini said United has inspected other aircraft models and hasn't found such wiring problems.

"We are just being extremely proactive," Mancini said, adding that the decision was entirely voluntary. An FAA spokesman didn't have any immediate comment.

United's strategy risks alienating loyal customers, some of whom choose flights based on the availability of laptop recharging. Dennis Bunsold, a top-tier United frequent flier, recalled a flight on May 10 when the ports on the 777 weren't operating. "A cabin attendant said it was due to a fire hazard," he said.

On another United flight in June, Bunsold again asked the cabin crew and was told they were cut off due to "a design error." Mr. Bunsold now vows to avoid United's 777s until the ports are hooked up again: "I'm on the Internet right now trying to reschedule to a 767," he said.