A confidential airline industry report into the dangers posed by electronic devices should raise alarm bells among passengers who refuse to follow the rules, says one aviation expert.

The secret industry report obtained by ABC News documents 75 cases where passengers' personal electronic devices (PEDs) were believed to have interfered with a plane's operation.

The U.S. news agency reported that 26 of the incidents affected the plane's flight controls, such as the autopilot, auto thrust and landing gear.

Another 17 affected navigation systems while 15 of the incidents documented interference with communication systems and 13 resulted in electronic warnings on the planes.

The report is believed to comprise some of the first evidence that PEDs such as cellphones -- most often believed to be the culprit in the incidents cited in the report -- as well as laptops, iPads and iPods, can actually interfere with a plane's systems.

While airlines have long warned of the risk and asked passengers not to use such devices, especially during takeoff and landing, many passengers openly ignore the warnings.

Airline analyst Vernon Grose said the concerns in the report are legitimate. He told CTV's Canada AM that in the past planes used mechanical pulleys and cables running from the cockpit to the rest of the plane, to control its functions.

Now, planes use a system called "fly by wire," meaning commands from pilots are converted into digital signals that are sent via wires through the plane, to control various functions. As a result, electronic devices have the potential to interfere with vital communication and navigation signals, he said.

"The devices in the aircraft cabin that you've got the flight attendants worrying about, they can interfere with some of the aircraft's operation and have done so, and so we're concerned about that," Grose said.

The report obtained by ABC covers the years 2003 to 2009 and is based on survey responses from 125 airlines comprising roughly a quarter of the world's airline traffic.

The report does not confirm that the 75 incidents were caused by personal electronic devices. However, it documents the responses of flight crews while the incidents were taking place.

In one case, a plane's autopilot disengaged itself while the plane was flying at about 4,500 feet.

Suspicious that something was interfering with the plane's operation, flight attendants were asked to go through the cabin and look for electronic devices. They found four passengers using electronic devices, contrary to the rules.

The passengers were told to shut off their devices, and the plane proceeded "without any further incident."

In another case, a clock spun backwards and a GPS device on a plane failed while laptops were being used nearby. In another, an altitude tracking device changed rapidly until passengers were asked to turn off their electronics -- at which time it returned to normal functioning.

The phenomenon occurred again an hour later. Passengers were again asked to shut off their devices, and once again the plane's controls resumed functioning as normal.

While many still doubt the claims that PEDs can interfere with a plane -- and the Emirates airline even allows full in-flight use of electronics -- Grose said passengers shouldn't risk breaking the rules.

For the sake of their own safety, and others, travellers should simply unplug for a few hours in the air, he said.

"The problem is flying is a collective experience, it's not individual, and if you want to fly without rules go get your own business jet," Grose said.