Tracking Hidden Aircraft
Over the past few years, most plane spotters have used Flight Radar or ADSB to identify aircraft. Some use tools like “Have I Seen It” that show only aircraft or scrapes that you haven’t seen. But with some of the worlds entitled wealth and the Military “opting out”, these tools are likely to become less useful in the future.
With the advent of the LADD, PIA and now the removal of visible markings from all Air Mobility Command aircraft, the plane spotting world is becoming a less friendly space for spotters to be in. The FAA’s LADD and PIA programs are annoying, but don’t defeat the Mk1 eyeball, however there is the possibility for the AMC change to cause spotters a real problem as there is no certainty that the ADS-C information can be confirmed.
Here is a typical example of how the PIA programme obfuscates an aircraft identity and with it the owner, the picture above shows an aircraft track from ASDB over the United States. You will notice that there is no registration displayed, just a call sign, a Hex code and a DB flag of PIA.
So lets look at some stuff about the data displayed, firstly the aircraft icon which indicates a single engine propeller driven aircraft. Not unusual at all, however when you look at the altitude and speed things don’t seem to add up – it is flying at 45,000ft at over 400kts. Although it could be a single engine prop driven aircraft, there are very few that would be capable of being in that envelope.
What else can we discern from the data, well the Hex code A4E954 is the next clue. This code equates to N4132C, a check of my database shows this to have been a Stinson 108 now de-registered – these do not fly at 45,000ft or at 400kts. There is no entry in the active file for that registration, but a check on the reserved registration file shows that the registration is reserved by the SBS Program Office – there are more more than 50,000 rgistrations with that reservation.
The only way of positively identifying this aircraft, would have been to be at the departure or the arival airport – or be in contact with spotters at each end.
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