Real Time Tracking

07 29 2014 Headline: Liberia closes border, restricts movements to fight Ebola 11 hours ago Search this site...
RSS EMAIL TWITTER FACEBOOK
HOME BNO NEWS INDIA ORDERS REAL-TIME AIRCRAFT TRACKING IN WAKE OF FLIGHT 370′S DISAPPEARANCE
India orders real-time aircraft tracking in wake of
Flight 370′s disappearance
Posted about 3 months ago | 0 comment
NEW DELHI, INDIA (BNO NEWS) -- India's civil aviation regulator has ordered airlines to track all its aircraft in real-
time to avoid a recurrence of the problems faced when a Malaysian airliner vanished over the South China Sea in
March but continued to fly on for hours, officials said Wednesday.
The directive issued this week will apply to both passenger and cargo planes and requires operators to use "all
suitable means" to track all aircraft from the moment of their departure to arrival. The regulator said the directive was
being issued on the basis of a preliminary report by Malaysian authorities that showed the location of Malaysia
Airlines Flight 370 remains unknown because the plane did not transmit its position in real-time.
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a Boeing 777 with 239 people on board, was operating a flight from Kuala Lumpur to
Beijing when it disappeared from civilian radar in the early morning of March 8. It was flying above the South China
Sea when it was last detected by air traffic controllers, but investigators believe the aircraft continued to fly for nearly
seven more hours before crashing in the southern Indian Ocean west of Perth.
"While commercial air transport aircrafts spend considerable amount of time operating over remote areas, there is
currently no international requirement for real time tracking of the aircraft. This uncertainty resulted in significant
difficulty in locating the aircraft in a timely manner," the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a
statement on Wednesday.
In the directive, Director General Prabhat Kumar said Indian airlines will be required to track all its aircraft in real-
time using the onboard Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) or Automatic
Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B). Operators will be required to ensure those systems are working
before each flight.
ACARS is a digital datalink system that is increasingly being used for the transmission of short messages between
aircraft and ground stations via airband radio or satellite as well as flight tracking. Important functions of the system
include the automatic detection and reporting of changes to the flight phases, information about weather conditions
and flight plans, and the transmission to ground stations of the conditions of various aircraft systems and sensors
for maintenance-related tasks.
In addition to those functions, ACARS uses automated ping messages to test the connection between the aircraft
and the communication stations. A ping response indicates the connection is working without problems, but ground
stations can also directly ping the aircraft in the event an aircraft goes silent.
"ACRAS data is, therefore, of great significance in locating the last position of the aircraft and launch search and
rescue after it has met with an accident," Kumar said. "In a recent accident, which has drawn the attention of all
concerned across the globe, the preliminary report has revealed that after ACARS stopped transmitting, the satellite
communication system automatically transmitted seven messages (pings) that confirmed that the system was still
logged onto the network."
The DGCA order for Indian airlines comes ahead of recommendations by the International Air Transport Association
(IATA), which has established a taskforce to determine the best way to continuously track commercial aircraft. But
Kumar said the directive was needed in the interim because the IATA report is expected to take months to complete.
In areas where ACARS and ADS-B has no coverage, Indian airlines have been instructed to devise other
procedures to ensure real-time flight tracking. "While flying over such areas, the flight crew should report the aircraft
coordinates, speed and altitude at an interval of not exceeding 15 minutes," Kumar said, adding that pilots must be
given "strict instructions" not to switch off ACARS/ADS-B during flights.
Additionally, Indian airlines will be required to develop procedures containing specific instructions and actions in the
event an aircraft is declared "overdue," "missing" or "unreported." The directive said flight crews will also have to
immediately report any problems with ACARS/ADS-B during flight.
(Copyright 2014 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: [email protected].)
Tags: breaking, top
BNO News
View all posts by BNO News →
TRENDING TOPICS
BNO NEWS BNO News
B.V. breaking British soldier critical
condition death toll European Union explosive
device Human rights International Security
Assistance International Security Assistance Force
local authorities local hospital local media New
York on Friday on Monday on Saturday on Thursday
on Tuesday police officer Police officers
President Barack Obama rescue workers
security forces service member southern
Afghanistan suicide bomber The accident the
attack The European Union the government The
incident The investigation the North the Taliban The
United Nations The victim Thursday morning top
troops in Afghanistan Tuesday morning United
Nation United Nations United States
HOME ACCIDENTS BNO NEWS BUSINESS CONFLICTS CRIME DISASTERS EARTHQUAKES ENTERTAINMENT ENVIRONMENT
ABOUT CONTACT EDITORS HOME PRIVACY POLICY
What Next?
Retweet this post on Twitter
Like this post on Facebook
StumbleUpon this post
Digg this post
Bookmark on del.icio.us
Related Articles
Liberia closes border, restricts movements to fight Ebola
Liberia closes border, restricts movements to fight Ebola
‘Perfect storm of events’ made dinosaurs unable to survive
asteroid impact
‘Perfect storm of events’ made dinosaurs unable to survive
asteroid impact
UN Security Council holds emergency meeting, calls for
ceasefire in Gaza
Putin hopes for improved U.S. ties despite
Ukraine crisis fallout
Severe turbulence injures 28 aboard Hong
Kong-bound flight
Outdoors journalist feared dead on Mt.
Rainier in Washington
Gunmen kill 29 prostitutes at Baghdad
brothels
Lose Belly Fat With
6 Stand-Up
Exercises
Stack
Five Reasons Not to
Date People in the
Rooms
After Party Chat
Teacher, 43,
arrested after being
caught sitting on 15-
year-old student's
lap in classroom
YJNews
10 Most Amazing
Streets in the World
Womanitely
0 Comments
Home Accidents BNO News Business Conflicts Crime Disasters Earthquakes Entertainment Environment Featured Health
© 2014 WireUpdate | Update to the Minute NewsWire . All rights reserved. Site Admin · Entries RSS · Comments RSS
News Releases Politics Technology Terrorism Weather Wire Update World News