Mobile phones may make planes crash: Study

London: A mobile phone when kept on during a flight can actually disrupt the plane's electronic systems and eventually lead to a crash, a study says.

The study by the International Air Transport Association says pilots and engineers have linked electronic devices to at least 75 safety incidents over the past six years.

One case involved a Boeing 747 flying at 4,500 feet whose automatic pilot disengaged by itself. When flight attendants went through the cabin, they found four passengers using electronic devices. Once they switched them off, the flight carried on without incident, the Daily Mail said.

The study described how a clock spun backwards and a GPS in the cabin read incorrectly while two laptops were being used nearby.

During another flight, the altitude control readings changed rapidly until a crew member asked passengers to turn off their electronic devices, it said.

The study revealed 'older' planes were most at risk to mobiles, Blackberrys and iPads.

The planes were not well shielded from the devices that radiate signals that can disrupt highly-sensitive sensors in the passenger cabin.

Boeing says planes were vulnerable during take-off and in poor visibility.

'It could tell you were left of the runway when in fact you were right of the runway. Or it could wipe out the signal completely so you had no indication where you were,' engineer David Carson told ABC.

Mobile phone increase the risk or cancer : WHO

The microwave radiations emitted through mobiles phones might cause cancer, a warning issued for the first time by the World Health Organization (WHO). The UN health body has listed risks that were quite alarming since it affects the youngsters and children, the most.

The report, based on the study of 21 scientific from 14 countries worldwide, revealed that the microwave radiation emitted by mobiles disrupts the glucose levels in brain, which may stimulate formation of brain tumors.

According to a last year's study, just 30 minutes of mobile use a day for ten years will increase chances of glioma, a type of brain cancer that is fatal. In 1997, a study by Michael Repacholi at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in South Australia showed an increase in lymphoma in mice exposed to mobile phone radiation over a long term.

There are more than 5 billion people with mobile subscriptions around the globe and it is difficult to expect them to discard their mobiles overnight. The only other option is to minimize their usage and opt for alternative means.

Here are some:

One suggestion was that a hands-free system will considerably reduce direct radiation effects on the brain as the phone needs not to be kept near your head.

Secondly, SMS messages should be resorted to more often than making calls.

Thirdly, opt for 3G phones as they are said to be emitting less radiation than 2G phones.

Professor Bruce Armstrong, of the University of Sydney, who contributed to the WHO report, suggests that new 3G technology phones are better than the 2G phones, as "the 3G phones give a much lower dose to the brain than the previous generations."