Radar at Beijing's airport disturbed by radio-controlled cameras

Radar at Beijing's airport was affected by interference from radio-controlled cameras in a building 14 kilometers (9 miles) away, potentially putting flights at risk, state media said Saturday.

Photo: Radar at Beijing's airport disturbed by radio-controlled cameras

The airport radar was plagued by "fuzzy signals" for almost a week because of three mini-cameras with radio aerials installed in elevators at a dormitory, the China Daily newspaper said.

"The radio was using the same frequency channel as the airport radar, therefore, largely dampening the performance," Su Qing of the Northern China Air Traffic Management Bureau was quoted as saying.

"The radio waves severely disturbed normal flight takeoff and landings," he said.

The report did not give any more details on when the interference occurred, what happened to the cameras or if any problems with flights were reported.

Telephone calls to the air traffic management bureau rang unanswered on Saturday. A duty officer at the Beijing Radio Management Bureau, where the case was being handled, said that bureau staff had visited the airport earlier in the week, but that he had no details on the investigation.