It's worth remembering this didn't occur in a vacuum. From Senator McCaskill's open letter to the head of the FAA last December¹: …I urge the agency to embrace

It's worth remembering this didn't occur in a vacuum. From Senator McCaskill's open letter to the head of the FAA last December¹: …I urge the agency to embrace the expanded use of PEDs… …the public is growing increasingly skeptical of prohibitions on the use of many electronic devices… …such anachronistic policies undermine the public's confidence in the FAA… …absurdity of the current situation… …It is my hope that the FAA will work, with the FCC and other federal agencies where appropriate, as expeditiously as possible to implement common sense changes… …I am prepared to pursue legislative solutions should progress be made too slowly. ␄ ¹ http://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=1757 http://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=1757 Contemporaneous HN posting: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4914344 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4914344