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Pre-registration opens for global emergency aircraft tracking service

By General Aviation News Staff · August 22, 2018 ·

Pre-registration is now open for a free, global Aircraft Locating and Emergency Response Tracking (ALERT) service.

The Aireon ALERT service will provide the last known position of an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B)-equipped aircraft that is in distress or experiencing a loss in communication. The service, only available to airplane operators (think airlines), regulators, search and rescue organizations and Air Navigation Service Providers, offers precise position reports, free of charge, according to company officials.

The Aireon ALERT system is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2019 and will be operated out of the Irish Aviation Authority‘s North Atlantic Communications Centre in Ballygirreen, County Clare, Ireland.

Enabled by Aireon’s space-based ADS-B service, Aireon ALERT will give aircraft operators, regulators, search and rescue organizations and Air Navigation Service Providers access, on request, to exact position data for an aircraft in distress over the oceans, remote areas, and anywhere else they may need aircraft position information in an emergency.

“We are proud to host and operate the world’s first truly global aircraft locating and emergency response tracking facility, based on the Aireon system’s capabilities,” said Peter Kearney, IAA CEO. “Our facility will be providing Aireon ALERT services 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. As long as an aircraft is broadcasting on 1090 MHz ADS-B, we will be able to locate it anywhere worldwide. This is a unique and secure cloud-based service, designed to the highest data protection standards.”

“Aireon is proud to support a much-needed solution to the aviation industry,” said Don Thoma, Aireon CEO. “For the first time, the Aireon ALERT service will deliver the most precise location data for emergency and distress situations over the oceans and remote areas, typically void of ground-based infrastructure. We recognize that our system has unique capabilities, and with that comes a responsibility to help prevent future tragedies.”

https://youtu.be/MeGa056jdnw

Users of the service do not need to be customers of either Aireon or the IAA to use the service. They simply need to be registered. Once registered and approved for Aireon ALERT, should an emergency arise, users can contact the 24/7/365 operations facility to obtain the last known position of its aircraft. This will include a map of the last 15 minutes of flight, with one plot per minute and a 4-dimensional report including altitude, latitude, longitude and time information. Based on the situation, additional tracking information may also be provided, company officials noted.

Aireon ALERT will be provided as a public service, free of charge to those who are registered.

To pre-register, go to AireonAlert.com.

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Comments

  1. Bartr says

    August 26, 2018 at 6:44 am

    They did, in the second paragraph.

  2. Mike White says

    August 23, 2018 at 1:49 pm

    The Aerion Alert system seemed to be a good idea, thanks! I got most of the way through the registration process & reading the Terms, it says that it is only for airlines, etc. & not to GA pilots. You should notify your readers.

    Thank you,

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