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Nintendo electronic game being played in forward cabin of widebody transport allegedly interferred with VOR signal on fsm VOR 110.4.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 139284 |
| Time | |
| Date | 199002 |
| Day | Tue |
| Local Time Of Day | 1801 To 2400 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | atc facility : fsm |
| State Reference | AR |
| Altitude | msl bound lower : 39000 msl bound upper : 39000 |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Night |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Controlling Facilities | artcc : zme |
| Operator | common carrier : air carrier |
| Make Model Name | Widebody, Low Wing, 3 Turbojet Eng |
| Flight Phase | cruise other |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Affiliation | company : air carrier |
| Function | flight crew : first officer |
| Qualification | pilot : instrument pilot : commercial pilot : flight engineer pilot : cfi pilot : atp |
| Experience | flight time last 90 days : 225 flight time total : 7500 flight time type : 2500 |
| ASRS Report | 139284 |
| Person 2 | |
| Affiliation | company : air carrier |
| Function | flight crew : captain oversight : pic |
| Qualification | pilot : instrument pilot : commercial pilot : atp |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | other anomaly other other spatial deviation |
| Independent Detector | other flight crewa |
| Resolutory Action | flight crew : overcame equipment problem |
| Consequence | Other |
| Supplementary | |
| Primary Problem | Aircraft |
| Air Traffic Incident | other |
Narrative:
First officer's VOR on 110.4, (fort smith) needle moving left to right , flag on-off, very erratic. F/a found nintendo 'game boy' portable electronic game (self-contained, no remote control) in use in forward passenger section. Game was turned off, VOR indication returned to normal. My company flight operation manual allows portable electronic games to be used by passenger if they do not have a remote control. I have heard of this same game causing VOR and transponder outage in widebody transport. Callback conversation with reporter revealed following information. Captain claimed he had same type of VOR signal loss when a nintendo game was being played in the cabin. He asked the cabin attendant to check and she advised there was one in the forward cabin. I do not know how it works, all I know is that when it was turned off my VOR signal came back on. Why it did not affect both VOR's I can only guess it was because of the antenna location. Radio equipment in a compartment below the forward passenger cabin should not have been a factor.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: NINTENDO ELECTRONIC GAME BEING PLAYED IN FORWARD CABIN OF WDB ALLEGEDLY INTERFERRED WITH VOR SIGNAL ON FSM VOR 110.4.
Narrative: F/O'S VOR ON 110.4, (FORT SMITH) NEEDLE MOVING L TO R , FLAG ON-OFF, VERY ERRATIC. F/A FOUND NINTENDO 'GAME BOY' PORTABLE ELECTRONIC GAME (SELF-CONTAINED, NO REMOTE CTL) IN USE IN FORWARD PAX SECTION. GAME WAS TURNED OFF, VOR INDICATION RETURNED TO NORMAL. MY COMPANY FLT OPERATION MANUAL ALLOWS PORTABLE ELECTRONIC GAMES TO BE USED BY PAX IF THEY DO NOT HAVE A REMOTE CTL. I HAVE HEARD OF THIS SAME GAME CAUSING VOR AND TRANSPONDER OUTAGE IN WDB. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED FOLLOWING INFO. CAPT CLAIMED HE HAD SAME TYPE OF VOR SIGNAL LOSS WHEN A NINTENDO GAME WAS BEING PLAYED IN THE CABIN. HE ASKED THE CABIN ATTENDANT TO CHK AND SHE ADVISED THERE WAS ONE IN THE FORWARD CABIN. I DO NOT KNOW HOW IT WORKS, ALL I KNOW IS THAT WHEN IT WAS TURNED OFF MY VOR SIGNAL CAME BACK ON. WHY IT DID NOT AFFECT BOTH VOR'S I CAN ONLY GUESS IT WAS BECAUSE OF THE ANTENNA LOCATION. RADIO EQUIP IN A COMPARTMENT BELOW THE FORWARD PAX CABIN SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN A FACTOR.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.