International Telecommunications Union Call for Real-Time Flight Tracking in the Wake of MH370

The entire aviation industry have scratched its proverbial head in the mysterious disappearance of flight MH370. It has led to a call from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) for improvements to the 50-year old ‘black box’ system, using advancements in technology to produce a real-time flight tracking system.

According to ITU, there ‘should be a mechanism to ensure that aircraft can be tracked in real time using state-of-the-art cloud computing’.

The black box recorder is mandatory on all flights, to record vital aircraft data regarding flight operations, aircraft systems, performance parameters, magnetic heading, positioning and other critical information. It is today being argued that this information should be available in real-time, with no possibility of being manually disconnected or the need for the recorder to be physically located in the event of an incident.

There is little doubt that the strength of feeling is running high at this stage. The industry as a whole is being urged to find solutions for flight tracking that cannot be manipulated.