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Most modern airliners have satellite links (data and voice) with their dispatch centers. They also use the ACARS system to send and receive clearances (they can

Most modern airliners have satellite links (data and voice) with their dispatch centers. They also use the ACARS system to send and receive clearances (they can acknowledge by pushing a button). The old SELCAL+HF radio is no longer in use, except for backup. Planes have GPS trackers. Not only their company knows where they are, the control center can too. In the case of the north atlantic track system, air control keeps a tight eye on speed, altitude and separation with very precise measurements, even as airplanes are far away from land. I just fail to see the point of this post. I recently hitched a ride on the cockpit jump seat of a modern airplane for a Europe-East Coast flight and during that I saw the air traffic control knowing exactly where we were, and the pilots communicating via text message (ACARS) with control, as well as using satellite links to contact dispatch (via text messages), as well as satellite phone calls. Pilots keep paper around them because pilots are there to maintain control, and paper is just another failsafe (with pretty good reliability record!). Bonus: some planes can notice alterations in the flight dynamics and report an ice buildup. No pilot in this planet is going to let any external person input flight parameters remotely into their aircraft's system while they are in the air.

hydrogen18 13y ago
The author of the article is apparently so uninformed that not only does he realize that ACARS is available, but that is uses the same "awful, really awful" HF radio. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Frequency_Data_Link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Frequency_Data_Link It's actually a brilliant system, with network of transmit and receive sites its like globally available text messaging for pilots. Also, unless the pilot was using atrocious equipment I can't see why HF radio would sound awful. I use my HF radio almost daily and don't have any complaints. I can legally listen to air traffic controllers on HF with no problem as well. The equipment I have is far, far inferior to that in most commercial airliners.
notahacker 13y ago
And pilot aids that appear to provide more information than they actually do can do more harm than good. If pilots take suicidal risks based on dubious information from "real-time" weather updates specifically designed for pilots[1], just imagine what would happen if consumer-grade iPad "real-time" weather apps found their way into the commercial cockpit. [1]http://www.maxtrescott.com/max_trescott_on_general_a/2012/06/ntsb-alertin-cockpit-nexrad-weather-age-misleading-and-killing-pilots.html http://www.maxtrescott.com/max_trescott_on_general_a/2012/06...
frik 13y ago
> I just fail to see the point of this post. Haven't you read about the missing aircraft? Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is a missing international passenger flight operated by a Boeing 777-200ER aircraft: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_Airlines_Flight_370 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_Airlines_Flight_370 At least two of the passengers were travelling using false identities (stolen passports, tickets bought at the same time). Edit: last known position: http://www.flightradar24.com/2014-03-07/16:46/12x/MAS370/2d81a27 http://www.flightradar24.com/2014-03-07/16:46/12x/MAS370/2d8...
- greyskull 13y ago
  Oh wow. If it's straight-up missing they could be anywhere in Asia right now... nuts.
  - mikeash 13y ago
    Not likely. It was at cruising altitude and then vanished off the radar screen after sudden maneuvering. If it had diverted it would have continued to be tracked on radar. Even if they had shut off transponders and such, primary surveillance radar would have continued to see them. It almost certainly experienced a sudden catastrophic failure in flight (and I would bet due to a bomb).
    - bruceb 13y ago
      Or not a bomb, just some maintenance problem. No group claims responsibility. The point of bombing seems to be to strike fear and send a message. The passport thing is curious but stolen/fake passports can be of use for other things that are nothing to do with terrorism.
      - mikeash 13y ago
        Indeed. My money is on "bomb" just because it's hard to come up with a maintenance problem that causes such a rapid disaster at altitude. It would have to be something that caused a massive explosion like TWA 800. Possible, but unlikely. The lack of a claim makes a bombing less likely too, but IMO less so than the improbability of a mechanical problem.
pyalot2 13y ago
Modern airliners are also flown by entire teams of ground crews, among them Rolls Royce support engineers that monitor an aircrafts engines in realtime every second of operation trough its entire lifespan trough the hundreds of sensors embedded in each and every engine. This way, most problems an engine would develop that would be hard to spot by ground service, are detected and acted upon long before they threaten the operation of the engine and airplane.
jkaljundi 13y ago
FYI, the author of the post owns and pilots a modern jet plane, and is a seasoned pilot. His post was not just about airliners, but any planes up in the sky. And he is right, that the technology in many cases is outdated and prone to errors.
- adrinavarro 13y ago
  He owns a plane which he does not fly as a pilot and got a PPL which allows him to fly light aircraft in visual conditions but refuses to fly unaccompanied. I would not say that he is a seasoned pilot… There are planes and planes. Security in airliners and in light aircraft are two matters of their own. You don't expect people who own a Cessna to have a black box and a satellite data link.

hydrogen18 13y ago

The author of the article is apparently so uninformed that not only does he realize that ACARS is available, but that is uses the same "awful, really awful" HF radio. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Frequency_Data_Link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Frequency_Data_Link It's actually a brilliant system, with network of transmit and receive sites its like globally available text messaging for pilots. Also, unless the pilot was using atrocious equipment I can't see why HF radio would sound awful. I use my HF radio almost daily and don't have any complaints. I can legally listen to air traffic controllers on HF with no problem as well. The equipment I have is far, far inferior to that in most commercial airliners.

notahacker 13y ago

And pilot aids that appear to provide more information than they actually do can do more harm than good. If pilots take suicidal risks based on dubious information from "real-time" weather updates specifically designed for pilots[1], just imagine what would happen if consumer-grade iPad "real-time" weather apps found their way into the commercial cockpit. [1]http://www.maxtrescott.com/max_trescott_on_general_a/2012/06/ntsb-alertin-cockpit-nexrad-weather-age-misleading-and-killing-pilots.html http://www.maxtrescott.com/max_trescott_on_general_a/2012/06...

frik 13y ago

> I just fail to see the point of this post. Haven't you read about the missing aircraft? Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is a missing international passenger flight operated by a Boeing 777-200ER aircraft: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_Airlines_Flight_370 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_Airlines_Flight_370 At least two of the passengers were travelling using false identities (stolen passports, tickets bought at the same time). Edit: last known position: http://www.flightradar24.com/2014-03-07/16:46/12x/MAS370/2d81a27 http://www.flightradar24.com/2014-03-07/16:46/12x/MAS370/2d8...

greyskull 13y ago
Oh wow. If it's straight-up missing they could be anywhere in Asia right now... nuts.
- mikeash 13y ago
  Not likely. It was at cruising altitude and then vanished off the radar screen after sudden maneuvering. If it had diverted it would have continued to be tracked on radar. Even if they had shut off transponders and such, primary surveillance radar would have continued to see them. It almost certainly experienced a sudden catastrophic failure in flight (and I would bet due to a bomb).
  - bruceb 13y ago
    Or not a bomb, just some maintenance problem. No group claims responsibility. The point of bombing seems to be to strike fear and send a message. The passport thing is curious but stolen/fake passports can be of use for other things that are nothing to do with terrorism.
    - mikeash 13y ago
      Indeed. My money is on "bomb" just because it's hard to come up with a maintenance problem that causes such a rapid disaster at altitude. It would have to be something that caused a massive explosion like TWA 800. Possible, but unlikely. The lack of a claim makes a bombing less likely too, but IMO less so than the improbability of a mechanical problem.

pyalot2 13y ago

Modern airliners are also flown by entire teams of ground crews, among them Rolls Royce support engineers that monitor an aircrafts engines in realtime every second of operation trough its entire lifespan trough the hundreds of sensors embedded in each and every engine. This way, most problems an engine would develop that would be hard to spot by ground service, are detected and acted upon long before they threaten the operation of the engine and airplane.

jkaljundi 13y ago

FYI, the author of the post owns and pilots a modern jet plane, and is a seasoned pilot. His post was not just about airliners, but any planes up in the sky. And he is right, that the technology in many cases is outdated and prone to errors.

adrinavarro 13y ago
He owns a plane which he does not fly as a pilot and got a PPL which allows him to fly light aircraft in visual conditions but refuses to fly unaccompanied. I would not say that he is a seasoned pilot… There are planes and planes. Security in airliners and in light aircraft are two matters of their own. You don't expect people who own a Cessna to have a black box and a satellite data link.