That gets the crew somewhere that they would not be in danger of something catastrophic (like what happened to Columbia), at the cost of a bit more space and time in orbit. All could have made it back to Earth alive.
But that's just me, and I may be totally wrong.
This is absolutely misleading, everyone.
First off, there is no 'ban' on personal electronic devices on the flight deck. According to both TFA and the original FAA press release, the FAA is asking carriers to create and enforce their rules regarding this. Absolutely NOTHING in the article outright bans them from using them on the flight deck.
Second, this only affects FAR Part 121 operations (read: commercial travel). Part 61 (General Aviation), Part 91 (Private Aircraft and Fractional Owners), and Part 135 (On Demand/commuters) do not appear to be affected by this 'request'.
Don't you just love it when the media jump the shark^H^H^H^H^Hgun on every single non-issue...
BL.
The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not "Eureka!" (I found it!) but "That's funny ..." -- Isaac Asimov