Page 32 - Acars News Today

>> theres some speculation there, youre wright. the skies are crowded. there was only one of the reasons we have a problem here that we havent got a better direction in this area that is 3 million miles is because there was only one satellite at that point, we didnt triangulate, but this is a plane that was well outside the flight path, that wasnt matching any other of the transponders, if you will, and they isolated this plane basically in the middle of the indian ocean. thats the best theyve g...

Youd have to have a team. we know from the timing acars was still on when making the turn. someone is flying the plane. you cant put it on auto pilot and go down to the space. now we have two people in whatever was occurring. >> what is more likely in terms of testing the information as it comes out? somebody doing something to disable acars or something happening on the plane that knocks it out despite the fact of how difficult it is to knock it out because its designed to stay on no matter wha...

A key reporting system, weve been hearing it on cnn, acars. >> we know all about acars, yes. >> and that began the sequence of events that led up to the transponder being deactivated. what was not clear at that point was what information the malaysian officials had to suggest why exactly they thought the acars system had been shut down. there was some confusion about that. the defense and transportation minister stated the following day that in fact the situation was, yes, that was the order. th...

Believe it. this is data that came from the acars system that adjusts the sequence of events investigators have been laying out. telli tell us about it. >> thats correct. acars can be set up different ways. it can radio back to the ground the current flight. if you set it up differently, it will radio back to the ground the next leg or leg after that is going to be. at some point it radioed back or satellited back this change in course, this very sharp left turn. there are a lot of ways to chang...

Will, based on the acar system, the maintenance system, going dark, and then the transponder going dark as well, eric. >> hey, katherine, its andrea tantaros. who played the message that they received, that the data was changed through acars? do we know it came from a dispatcher, where did we get the information everybody is talking about today? >> the acar system for a layperson, this is a maintenance system onboard most of the boeing flights. it offered an upgraded system, but the basic system...

Sometimes the facts are slippery. were having trouble putting into context. >> that is -- you know, a simple reality that you dont need to plot a course to ditch a plane. it sounds obvious. its important to note. >> right. >> did you get from your sources because its all the same facts here. the acars system -- what your reporting does is establishing the acars system must have been functioning when the key strokes were put in. obviously we wouldnt know about them otherwise. anything there your ...

And communicate. you talk to people. >> how do you communicate if transponder acars not working. im throwing around terms like im a pilot. im not. suddenly we know about acars. when those systems go down, how do you communicate. >> navigation and maintenance, im talking about radios, telephone, smartphone. you pick it up and go mayday, mayday, mayday. >> does it work at that altitude? >> at 40,000 feet you can talk to the world. >> youre saying a pilot has a phone in the cockpit, if everything w...

Sources on the u.s. government side say acars recorded this other point had been put in by pilots. >> correct. >> we dont know when they put n it in? >> thats correct. acars tells you when the plane was starting to move towards that point. somebody had to put it in. it didnt do it by accident. for example -- >> its not part of the main route to beijing? >> thats right. it wouldnt be the safety point. we talk before you have a safety point, enough fuel to get to your safety. this cant be it. >> t...

Thats one way acars can work. heres another way the system can work over here. this is really the brains of the whole aircraft here. the computer. and its been programs before we took off with everything of our flight information, everything you need to know about this particular aircraft, where its headed, how its flying. and once again here you see acars, i can bring up the menu and there are various functions that i can use. this is a way to communicate beyond just radio. it is another backup...

Message, conveying fuel, if toilets are working, now pilots can even use the key pad to send their own text out. some of the acars can be switched off by turning off the vhf, but to dismantle it, you have to go down, remove the circuit box. and as you can see here there are a number of circuit boxes below that airplane. now if the transponder and acars is shut down why is the plane still responding to satellite pings some several hours later, well, sat car has an antenna on top of the plane you ...