The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration mandates that aircraft takeoffs and landings must not rely on visual judgment.

Reported by Hong Shengyi / Taipei

Following an accident in early July when an Asiana Airlines passenger plane crashed while landing at San Francisco International Airport, resulting in three fatalities and over 180 injuries, recent foreign media reports indicate that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has introduced new regulations. These require all foreign passenger planes landing at San Francisco International Airport to use the Global Positioning System (GPS), and also prohibit side-by-side landings of foreign airline flights at the airport.

According to the Associated Press, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has recently introduced new regulations requiring all foreign passenger planes landing at San Francisco International Airport to use the Global Positioning System (GPS) instead of relying solely on visual altitude judgment for takeoff and landing. The regulations will also mandate strict checks by all domestic and international flight crews on the power status of passengers' electronic devices. Additionally, side-by-side landings of foreign airline flights at San Francisco Airport are prohibited. However, these regulations have not yet been officially confirmed.

It is understood that Silicon Valley in the San Francisco area is a global hub for renowned enterprises, with major tech giants such as AMD, Adobe, Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Oracle, Intel, and HP all having bases there. Countless global tech professionals travel to the region for work each year. San Francisco’s Moscone Center is also a key venue for annual global developer conferences hosted by companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft. As a result, local traffic safety has garnered increased global attention, which may also be one of the reasons why the FAA was able to implement aircraft takeoff and landing regulations in a short period of time.