-1
$\begingroup$

Has it occurred to the FAA that all aircraft should be in constant communication with the network and report status periodically?

I'm thinking of the Malaysian Airways disappearance, where a jet flew towards the South Pole for 7 hours before it crashed. The pilot turned off the transponder and all communications. Only the low level hardware communication pings allowed us to know it was even alive.

Every 10 seconds, the aircraft should report very basic parameters like position, altitude, speed, heading, engine power, and fuel. You can put all that into a single IP packet.

Surely this must have occurred to someone? Are the airlines resistin

I'm talking about a coninuous once-per-10-second ping of a single packet of hardware status data to a central tracking database. My question had nothing at all to do with anything happening in the cockpit, including the cockpit voice recorder.

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
6
  • 4
    $\begingroup$ Are you familiar with ADS-B, specifically Space-Based ADS-B? $\endgroup$
    – Greg Hewgill
    Commented Oct 21 at 2:27
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ It's amazing how the question "Does the FAA require the airlines to maintain continual communication with aircraft that can't be switched off?" can be associated with "Why don't all commercial aircraft transmit GPS data in real time?". Actually constantly flagging questions as duplicates of ones which are not but are somehow similar, prevents anyone to ask or answer with a bird's-eye view of any topic. Voting to reopen for the principle, but I know it won't be supported. $\endgroup$
    – mins
    Commented Oct 21 at 10:09
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ All evidence points to somebody in the MH370 cockpit having intentionally sabotaged every communication device aboard, including killing all power except what's provided by the ram air turbine because that's the only way to fully turn off satcom. Extra communication requirements or equipment would likely not have helped in a scenario where the pilot is intentionally trying to go dark and has planned it all out ahead of time. $\endgroup$
    – Darth Pseudonym
    Commented Oct 21 at 13:25
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @mins, how is this not a dupe of the others? $\endgroup$
    – Michael Hall
    Commented Oct 21 at 15:10
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Yes, this is a really important question even if there is a snag with duplicates. I am also voting to re-open because the summary by mins is concise and saves time by linking an overview of similar (or nearly identical) questions. $\endgroup$
    – Thomas Perry
    Commented Oct 22 at 5:01

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1
$\begingroup$

Does the FAA require the airlines to maintain continual communication with aircraft that can't be switched off?

No, there is no such requirement for radios, they can be switched off, they can fail, and propagation conditions may not allow to establish a radio link using terrestrial networks.

Every 10 seconds, the aircraft should report very basic parameters like position, altitude, speed, heading, engine power, and fuel. You can put all that into a single IP packet. Surely this must have occurred to someone? Are the airlines resisting

  • At the time of MH370 it was already possible using satcom and ACARS. ACARS can report a status using VHF or satcom. Satcom is used when overflying areas without VHF ground stations (desert, ocean).

  • MH370 had a satcom equipement to use ACARS, but didn't pay for the subscription, so they were not able to transmit ACARS when remote of VHF stations.

  • Why the subscription wasn't paid is likely because this would increase the ticket price, something passengers don't want, so airlines are indeed reluctant.

  • Nevertheless, considering the huge cost of Search and Rescue operations for MH370 and AF447, States are asking for the generalization of a space ATC. In space ATC communications with ATC can be done by multiple means, including satellites.

  • Space ATC is currently under preparation, but some elements are already deployed, e.g. the position can be reported from nearly everywhere using space-based ADS-B:

    Aircraft equipped with ADS-B can stream their exact position and altitude twice per second, wherever they are in the world, to a network of 66 satellites.

    Source: Space-based ADS-B helps NAV CANADA reach new safety milestone.

    If we are able to follow aircraft overflying oceans and desert areas on flight tracking sites, this is because they continuously report their position using a satellite and space ADS-B.

This question is recurrent under multiple forms, focusing on different aspects, so this overview is already refined in:

The answers may be outdated though, as this is a field which is under active development.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
8
  • $\begingroup$ "No, there is no such requirement for radios." It's abundantly clear from the context given in the body of the question that the OP is referring to data vs voice communication. $\endgroup$
    – Michael Hall
    Commented Oct 21 at 15:28
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ @MichaelHall But data is also transmitted over radio. $\endgroup$
    – void_ptr
    Commented Oct 21 at 15:52
  • $\begingroup$ @void_ptr, I understand, but I specified data vs voice. The question was asking about transmitting data, not technical details about the RF means of accomplishing that. Anyway, if you believe this question is significantly different than the duplicates it was closed for then please edit to make that clear and I will gladly vote to reopen. $\endgroup$
    – Michael Hall
    Commented Oct 21 at 19:12
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @MichaelHall: The criterion for duplicates, is not "this has been answered somehow elsewhere", "but this question and this other question are a single one". The difference between "is radio contact uninterruptible by regulation" and "Why GNSS position isn't transmitted in realtime" should be obvious. The fact the current question leads to mentioning spaced-based ACARS/ADS-B already detailed elsewhere as a solution to the underlying problem plays no role in the duplicate story. I'm perfectly able to re-route the OP to other related questions after answering the first specific question. $\endgroup$
    – mins
    Commented Oct 21 at 22:46
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @MichaelHall: Anyway "duplicates" are not so bad for the different forms: Dr. Strangedupe: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying And Love Duplication: "bear in mind that cultivating and supporting a moderate amount of natural duplication actively helps the community", that's from Atwood himself. $\endgroup$
    – mins
    Commented Oct 21 at 23:37

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .