Brazil prosecutors want American pilots in prison

[groundloop]

5. Transponder could be deactivated by the pilot placing their feet on the footrests ????

From the linked article:

"This was followed by a warning to Embraer ERJ and Legacy operators that they could accidentally deactivate the type's transponder by placing their feet on the footrests directly below the instrument panel."

I'm wondering if anyone can shed some light on this. I've never flown planes as advanced as these, I'm wondering why the manufacturer decided it was desirable to automatically turn off the collision avoidance system when the pilots feet are on the footrests. I assume that would only be when flying on autopilot, as the rest of the time both feet of one of the pilots would be on the rudder pedals.