Congress considers banning use of laptops in the cockpit

Airline passengers are used to being told by flight attendants that it's time to put away their laptop computers. Now, the pilots of American (AMR), Delta (DAL) and other airlines may hear a similar message from Congress, which is considering banning the use of laptops and other electronic devices in the cockpit.

The use of laptops is being blamed for an Oct. 21 incident in which a Northwest plane flew 150 miles beyond its Minneapolis destination before the pilots became aware that they had overshot their intended landing site.