I’m not trying to add to anyone’s fear of flying but currently when a transcontinental flight is above the middle of the ocean, no one on the ground can see exactly where it is — in the air, or worse, in the water.

Radar systems that are being used by air traffic controllers only allows for a range of about 200 miles off the coast. Once an aircraft is beyond that point they are the only ones who know precisely where they are. The system has worked relatively well and no one really makes an issue of it until something goes wrong. Which is exactly what happened a few weeks ago when Air France flight 477 disappeared into the Atlantic Ocean.

Radar quality varies from country to country. For example, many U.S. control centers at least enable planes to send more frequent updates about their location, even when beyond radar's reach.

But over oceans, including vast blind spots in the middle of the Atlantic on U.S.-European routes, pilots usually have to resort to calling controllers with estimated positions every hour or so. The call-ins can frustrate pilots, especially in and around South America, where radio and radar coverage can be patchy. In addition, a plane failing to check in after more than two or three hours can be an air traffic controller's worst fear.

There is a heightened debate now on whether or not a more sophisticated GPS tracking system would have prevented or at least would have made the search for the downed plane easier and quicker. Furthermore it would have allowed for real time updated weather reports to be accessed by the pilots so they have may have diverted away from the massive storm they reported flew into.

As with almost everything it boils down to cost and replacing a radar based system to a GPS system isn’t cheap, estimated at some $35 billion. It sounds incredibly expensive and it is, until you or one of your relatives boards an ill-fated flight like Air France 477.

Safe Travels.
Randy