4 ms·

How come aircrafts are not equipped with color video for later visual confirmation? If a pilot claimed something, we can at least see what they are describing a

How come aircrafts are not equipped with color video for later visual confirmation? If a pilot claimed something, we can at least see what they are describing as well, and maybe more details that they didn't catch with video. Also are commercial pilots not allowed to carry smartphones? Did the pilots not record outside the cockpit window with their phones? Hearing of this UFO is pretty exciting, and it would be even more exciting to have actual photographs of it from official sources.

Ralfp 6y ago
Tracking cameras on civilian passenger plane seems like a whole lot extra stuff for operator to maintain and service compared to the benefit of capturing an UFO pictures once every few months.
- salawat 6y ago
  Because that would make a civillian passenger transport indistinguishable from a recon asset. You know what happens to recon assets that frequent hostile airspace, don't you? There are legitimate reasons to not build functionality into something.
  - anigbrowl 6y ago
    No it wouldn't. A recon plane would be pointing mostly at the ground rather than in front of above the plane. And you're assuming international flights, whereas there is abundant domestic air traffic in the US that never leaves the country.
  - scrose 6y ago
    I think this is a bit of a stretch. I’ve been on a few transatlantic flights that had live camera feeds under the plane that you could tune into as a regular station on the tv. I’d wager they’re more common on commercial flights than you think.
    - yardstick 6y ago
      Emirates B777s and A380s do this too. Especially the A380s that stream 3 different cameras (tail, below, front). I don’t think they record the feeds though, maybe that makes a difference? But yeah seems odd to me that recording video makes it a military asset... how many millions of passengers on commercial planes have recorded the view out their window etc.
EamonnMR 6y ago
I imagine the pilots where busy flying the aircraft.
- ceejayoz 6y ago
  There's really not all that much to do in an airliner during the cruise phase. The computer's mostly in control.
- sokoloff 6y ago
  In cruise at FL370, there’s plenty of free time.
ceejayoz 6y ago
> Hearing of this UFO is pretty exciting, and it would be even more exciting to have actual photographs of it from official sources. It would be, indeed. There's probably a simple explanation for the fact that when the general public started carrying around high-quality camera equipment at all times, UFO/alien sightings went down and police brutality incidents started cropping up.
- rahimiali 6y ago
  Aliens are afraid of cameras and police hate people who carry cameras?
- ALittleLight 6y ago
  Looks like the peak for UFO sightings was 2014-2015 and sightings are still above year 2000 rates[1]. I'm not certain I trust this data, 1990 seems awfully low, maybe there is a bias in how the data is collected, but it's the best source I found. Apparently it's difficult to quantify the number of police use of force complaints, in part, perhaps, because there are so many different jurisdictions and they collect data and report (or not) differently. I'd bet on use of force complaints declining though, I'd bet it is directly related to crime, which I expect has also gone down. One explanation for the above is that it is as easy as ever to see a UFO without video evidence. "I forgot to film it! It was so fast! My phone wasn't working! etc". It's also possible to create fake photos, either with props or taking pictures of things that aren't immediately identifiable, or with photo editing software. The existence of phones probably makes police brutality a little less likely, on the other hand, if it does anything, because police know there is an increased chance their subject/victim will be recording them or that someone else will be (or that their bodycams are). 1 - https://www.statista.com/chart/8452/ufo-sightings-are-at-record-heights/ https://www.statista.com/chart/8452/ufo-sightings-are-at-rec...
rkagerer 6y ago
Taking a video with his smartphone is definitely the first thing I want my pilot to do when he thinks he's spotted a missile cruising nearby. /s
mike_d 6y ago
> How come aircrafts are not equipped with color video for later visual confirmation? They are called reconnaissance aircraft, and open you up to all sorts of fun stuff like compliance with arms control treaties. Also as a general rule, airlines and even private pilots don't like to pay (in fuel) to carry things up in to the sky that they don't need on a regular basis. > Also are commercial pilots not allowed to carry smartphones? Pilots are trained to follow one general principal above all else: "Just fly the airplane." The concept is further expanded to "aviate navigate communicate administrate," if you are ever wondering what you should be doing at a given time. Screwing around with your phone is nowhere on the list unless you are on scheduled break time.
- manigandham 6y ago
  Airbus A380 has a tail camera that any passenger can view during the entire flight: https://www.google.com/search?q=airbus+a380+tail+camera https://www.google.com/search?q=airbus+a380+tail+camera Pilots can also operate a camera and many do record and share their travels on Youtube.
  - kylehotchkiss 6y ago
    Only a handful of US airports would receive A380s (from international destinations) before Covid, and currently few of any of those routes are flying A380s at all (most replaced with a340s, 777, 787 etc). The a380 tail cam probably can’t help us with this one! But I wish they’d add the tail cam to all the wide bodies with IFE. It’s fun to watch on the journey.
tomphoolery 6y ago
honestly because i don't think "UFO surveillance equipment" is part of the budget for airliners :P
GoblinSlayer 6y ago
Good idea, give pilots smartphones so they have less time looking around.

Ralfp 6y ago

Tracking cameras on civilian passenger plane seems like a whole lot extra stuff for operator to maintain and service compared to the benefit of capturing an UFO pictures once every few months.

salawat 6y ago
Because that would make a civillian passenger transport indistinguishable from a recon asset. You know what happens to recon assets that frequent hostile airspace, don't you? There are legitimate reasons to not build functionality into something.
- anigbrowl 6y ago
  No it wouldn't. A recon plane would be pointing mostly at the ground rather than in front of above the plane. And you're assuming international flights, whereas there is abundant domestic air traffic in the US that never leaves the country.
- scrose 6y ago
  I think this is a bit of a stretch. I’ve been on a few transatlantic flights that had live camera feeds under the plane that you could tune into as a regular station on the tv. I’d wager they’re more common on commercial flights than you think.
  - yardstick 6y ago
    Emirates B777s and A380s do this too. Especially the A380s that stream 3 different cameras (tail, below, front). I don’t think they record the feeds though, maybe that makes a difference? But yeah seems odd to me that recording video makes it a military asset... how many millions of passengers on commercial planes have recorded the view out their window etc.

EamonnMR 6y ago

I imagine the pilots where busy flying the aircraft.

ceejayoz 6y ago
There's really not all that much to do in an airliner during the cruise phase. The computer's mostly in control.
sokoloff 6y ago
In cruise at FL370, there’s plenty of free time.

ceejayoz 6y ago

> Hearing of this UFO is pretty exciting, and it would be even more exciting to have actual photographs of it from official sources. It would be, indeed. There's probably a simple explanation for the fact that when the general public started carrying around high-quality camera equipment at all times, UFO/alien sightings went down and police brutality incidents started cropping up.

rahimiali 6y ago
Aliens are afraid of cameras and police hate people who carry cameras?
ALittleLight 6y ago
Looks like the peak for UFO sightings was 2014-2015 and sightings are still above year 2000 rates[1]. I'm not certain I trust this data, 1990 seems awfully low, maybe there is a bias in how the data is collected, but it's the best source I found. Apparently it's difficult to quantify the number of police use of force complaints, in part, perhaps, because there are so many different jurisdictions and they collect data and report (or not) differently. I'd bet on use of force complaints declining though, I'd bet it is directly related to crime, which I expect has also gone down. One explanation for the above is that it is as easy as ever to see a UFO without video evidence. "I forgot to film it! It was so fast! My phone wasn't working! etc". It's also possible to create fake photos, either with props or taking pictures of things that aren't immediately identifiable, or with photo editing software. The existence of phones probably makes police brutality a little less likely, on the other hand, if it does anything, because police know there is an increased chance their subject/victim will be recording them or that someone else will be (or that their bodycams are). 1 - https://www.statista.com/chart/8452/ufo-sightings-are-at-record-heights/ https://www.statista.com/chart/8452/ufo-sightings-are-at-rec...

rkagerer 6y ago

Taking a video with his smartphone is definitely the first thing I want my pilot to do when he thinks he's spotted a missile cruising nearby. /s

mike_d 6y ago

> How come aircrafts are not equipped with color video for later visual confirmation? They are called reconnaissance aircraft, and open you up to all sorts of fun stuff like compliance with arms control treaties. Also as a general rule, airlines and even private pilots don't like to pay (in fuel) to carry things up in to the sky that they don't need on a regular basis. > Also are commercial pilots not allowed to carry smartphones? Pilots are trained to follow one general principal above all else: "Just fly the airplane." The concept is further expanded to "aviate navigate communicate administrate," if you are ever wondering what you should be doing at a given time. Screwing around with your phone is nowhere on the list unless you are on scheduled break time.

manigandham 6y ago
Airbus A380 has a tail camera that any passenger can view during the entire flight: https://www.google.com/search?q=airbus+a380+tail+camera https://www.google.com/search?q=airbus+a380+tail+camera Pilots can also operate a camera and many do record and share their travels on Youtube.
- kylehotchkiss 6y ago
  Only a handful of US airports would receive A380s (from international destinations) before Covid, and currently few of any of those routes are flying A380s at all (most replaced with a340s, 777, 787 etc). The a380 tail cam probably can’t help us with this one! But I wish they’d add the tail cam to all the wide bodies with IFE. It’s fun to watch on the journey.

tomphoolery 6y ago

honestly because i don't think "UFO surveillance equipment" is part of the budget for airliners :P

GoblinSlayer 6y ago

Good idea, give pilots smartphones so they have less time looking around.