Comment by ranger_danger
3 days ago
The pilots have ipads and internet connections... can't they just have it check e.g. flightaware or similar tool for nearby aircraft and keep them alerted if something is getting too close?
3 days ago
The pilots have ipads and internet connections... can't they just have it check e.g. flightaware or similar tool for nearby aircraft and keep them alerted if something is getting too close?
Yes, that's called ADS-B. It's a huge improvement in avoiding collisions. But both planes need to be transmitting their location and vectors.
The military plane was running silent.
Why would both planes have to be transmitting? The military plane can read the commercial plane's transponder.
You are assuming military pilots will pay attention enough to unilaterally notice and stay clear without making mistakes. In the Dulles disaster at least, this clearly didn't happen.
With transponders on, both aircraft (via TCAS) and the air traffic controllers are able to pay attention and avoid the situation, so much better chance of catching.
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Even if the military aircraft could read the ADS-B from the commercial plane, they were flying with their night vision goggles on. It's very unlikely that they would have seen all the instruments and could very well have missed the display. And since the two aircrafts were flying approximately at right angles to each other, the warning may have been degraded. (I'm not very sure about this point though. Needs confirmation.)