CNN using aircraft radio monitoring website's recordings in coverage

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newsphotog

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Just wanted to post a quick note about CNN using recordings from a scanner hobbyist's website of air traffic control audio in the Buffalo area plane crash. I thought that was kind of neat that a hobbyist got some valuable audio for CNN instead of CNN having to wait for the NTSB/FAA to "release" the "official" air traffic control audio.

I wish I could tell you which site it was, but my cable TV went out RIGHT as they were about to play the audio. When the cable came back on 20 minutes later, Anderson Cooper and a former pilot on the phone were STILL analyzing the audio.

I sure hope CNN is giving the website credit though.
 

CharlesDom

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Yeah I heard a newscaster on CNN mention that aviation hobbyists regularly record radio transmissions. I also thought it was pretty cool of them to mention that. I think maybe that might invite more people to buy scanners.
 

texasemt13

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Why would commercial aircraft need to go encrypted? Don't you think airlines already have enough to worry about, other than trying to deal with the interoperability nightmare of many encryption systems being utilized in one industry? Why would they spend millions to equip all their planes when they are worrying about not going further in to the red?

I don't think I will live to see the day when commercial aircraft go "encrypted" (this seems to be some childish "buzz word" on this site that flares people's nostrils).
 

K4DHR

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...or perhaps "justify" more radio systems going encrypted...

I won't say it would *never* happen, but I'd think you have a better chance of winning the lottery than air comms ever becoming encrypted. There has been talk of moving to digital modulation for 10-15 years and it has never moved any further than a few studies and technical papers.

The costs involved to switch every last airplane over to digital would be daunting enough. Also remember that weight is everything in aircraft and I doubt many operators would welcome carrying two types of radios to ensure that they can hear and be heard by everyone in the air. Unlike a PD switching to digital, this would require WORLDWIDE coordination.
 

N1508J

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History my boy, history!

Why would commercial aircraft need to go encrypted? Don't you think airlines already have enough to worry about, other than trying to deal with the interoperability nightmare of many encryption systems being utilized in one industry? Why would they spend millions to equip all their planes when they are worrying about not going further in to the red?

I don't think I will live to see the day when commercial aircraft go "encrypted" (this seems to be some childish "buzz word" on this site that flares people's nostrils).

Why would commercial aircraft need to go encrypted? Seems not so many years ago we were asking the question why fire and police would need encryption. You, the public are the enemy. An informed public is governments worst nightmare. Just consider Russia, China, North Korea and others. If there is a chance the public will hear something that the government wants hidden, that's reason enough to go encrypted! As for cost, not a problem, the taxpayer will foot the bill.
 

tactcom42

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I heard fox news talk about recordings from atclive .net the other day.love that web site!!!!
 
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SCANdal

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Thank you, N1508J; thank you. What's in it for us to help the forth estate?

Gentlemen,

Perhaps my point was poorly phrased. I'm well aware that that avionics are likely not to be encrypted any time soon - at least not in my remaining lifetime. Aviation monitoring is a small subset of the entire monitoring community - something that I was looking at in the bigger picture when I made my original comments. Someone in the process of seeking funding for a new radio system can point to such sites as ACTLive (and others like it that I know exist for the public safety world) and say "look...not only are we being listened to live (which a commo officer may not have a problem with per se)...but there are people are out there recording us on a day-to-day basis...do we really want a transmission made two weeks ago to live on forever in some place other then our own taping devices?" Presto, the green light is flashed for buying an encryption capable system. Then we as hobbyists, after the ssssssssssssssssss, beeps are all that come out of our speakers, raise our hands up in disgust and proclaim "Scanning is Dead!"

Again, I ask, way do we do this to ourselves?

SCANdal
 
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mkewman

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as someone who works in the media, I can certainly tell you that we use scanners and scanning websites extensively during disasters. Unfortunately most news outlets aren't very well versed in equipment, frequencies, and terminology because the majority of crews don't use the equipment enough on a daily basis.
usually there's only one or two people who work for each outlet who understand monitoring, frequencies, terminology, and with the recent economic crisis, a lot of those people just happen to be the ones being laid off from media outlets. with wire services and such, it's not really seen as important knowledge to have anymore.
 

wuzafuzz

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Why would commercial aircraft need to go encrypted? Don't you think airlines already have enough to worry about, other than trying to deal with the interoperability nightmare of many encryption systems being utilized in one industry? Why would they spend millions to equip all their planes when they are worrying about not going further in to the red?

I don't think I will live to see the day when commercial aircraft go "encrypted" (this seems to be some childish "buzz word" on this site that flares people's nostrils).

Look at the adotpion rate of 406 MHz ELT's for a preview. If general aviation is so resistant to new and improved ELT's, imagine the outcry over new fangled radios.
 

FoeHammer

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I wouldnt be surprised if ANYTHING you can monitor live, from aircraft to pizza delivery drivers , eventually goes encrypted ,It just bothers me when public service agencies go fully encrypted, because its one of the few things that keeps them honest & informs the citizens without media spin,...but seems it doesnt matter what the agency is encryption is the the trend & agencies are being convinced of it everyday , as far as airband comms , well really if you think about it I'm surprised they havent gone encrypted , but then nothing really makes sense in this industry ,New York PD -NOT Encrypted
Detroit PD -Not Encrypted
a little town like Amherstburg IS ?
Lasalle IS
Windsor IS Why? it doesnt make sense ,
I can still hear & track all the airplanes in the sky isnt that a "security risk"
Its all screwy I dunno
I do know one thing , one day eventually we will wake up & say "Hey what happened to our free society? & all those things we used to be able to do" but by then it will probably be too late
 

FoeHammer

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Oh sorry your right , I had thought it was , should have researched that anyway ,...Its okay people of Lasalle ,....carry on scanning ,....for now,.....
 

zerg901

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ScanDal - I dont think we are "doing anything to ourselves". There are always people who want to fly under the cover of darkness. 220 million people were killed in wars and genocides in the last century. It is going to take a lot of "openness" to conteract that toll. Peter Sz
 
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