4 ms·

Is there some rationale being implied here that I don't understand? 7 flight diversions over 3 weeks doesn't sound like some type of natural disaster or geopol

• throwawaymaths 4y ago
  Why not geopolitical? It's entirely possible that the US military is conducting surprise exercises/weapons tests in the northern Pacific that they gently request diversions away from, though I bet it's more likely to be spare parts supply chain crunches that are nudging airlines to stretch their metal thin (literally) Note that four of the five not-definitely-known-to-be-mechanical incidents transmitted either to or from San Diego, where a lot of navy exercises start from (the shown flight track diverts near where the navy reported harassment from a mystery drone swarm). Would probably be neat to see if they lined up in time and see if there are any other flights that transmitted around then to immediately kill the hypothesis.
  • immibis 4y ago
    They would just tell planes not to fly there.
• codefreeordie 4y ago
  5 of them occured within one week, which is an uncommonly high rate of occurrence. There is quite possibly no connection other than coincidence -- 2 of the 7 we're mechanical problems, after all -- but there may be some connection. For example, wind conditions could have been very unfavorable, putting the smaller aircraft closer to their range limits, exacerbating any other problems by reducing fuel margin.
  • mbg721 4y ago
    Hawaii is also pretty isolated geographically but has good infrastructure. If aircraft over the Pacific have issues, it's reasonable to expect them to go there.