Thread by @IAmDanHensley

***The Great Twitter Aircraft Tracking Thread***

The current owner of Twitter, @elonmusk has generated public panic over the recent days on the topic of reception of radio signals, and has spread unsupported/unproven talking points that are dangerous to democracy.

This thread will incorporate a previous thread I wrote on this topic using proper legal resources while also adding further education on the topic of radio signal monitoring and the sharing of that information as a discoverable public record under federal FOIA law. #FOIA

This thread will also use and incorporate FCC laws as they pertain to the reception and sharing of radio signals.

Before I get into this, I want to lay out my credentials.

I am an experienced, retired aviation Security & Safety Officer.

My background as such means I hold training and experience in the protection of major international airports, commercial aircraft, and the passengers and crew who board and fly within those aircraft.

Such work requires the use and discovery of intelligence information.

I am also licensed by the FCC as a General Class Amateur Radio Operator. This means that I had to study for and take an exam that requires me to know about the legal and ethical use of radio signals.

Amateur Radio Operators are incorporated into our nation's emergency communications infrastructure as a last line of defense when the only communications resource left is radio. See 47 CFR Part 97.

I have been licensed for around 16 years now, and spent many years in international aviation security & safety operations.

Given the combination of my training and knowledge in these two areas, I am qualified to speak on this topic.

Further, I have been an independent journalist for a number of years who uses public records to report on criminal investigations, law enforcement misconduct, law enforcement policy, and U.S. intelligence agencies.

This is a further qualifier.

Now that my credentials, knowledge and experience have been successfully established, I can write this thread.

I'll go so far as to invite the #AvGeek community to weigh-in on this thread and act as fact checkers. Within that community are experts such as @AirlineFlyer, @petchmo, and @jonostrower.

If I am wrong or heading in the wrong direction, I am sure these gentlemen will correct me

The first thing we need to establish is what flight tracking is and is not. When an aircraft is registered with the FAA, that aircraft is assigned a registration number called a "tail number".

The FAA registration, "Tail Number" is known as a N-Number" and is a matter of public record. N-numbers or tail numbers are mandated by federal law as a condition for certain aircraft to fly in U.S. airspace legally.

You can see this resource:

registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquir…

When an aircraft is on he ground and ready to taxi, the aircraft uses technologies called ADS-B, and MLAT

ADS-B FAA Resource:
faa.gov/air_traffic/te…

MLAT Resource: (This links to a blog entry by a well-established business, not to flight tracking)
blog.flightaware.com/what-is-mlat

Further education about ADS-B can be found here:

Traffic Information Services – Broadcast (TIS-B)
faa.gov/air_traffic/te…

Flight Information Services – Broadcast (FIS-B)

faa.gov/air_traffic/te…

How TIS-B Works

How FIS-B Works (this is not usually something aviation hobbyists or journalists use, but still part of ADS-B)

There is also ADS-R

faa.gov/air_traffic/te…

Something else hobbyists and journalists monitor is called ACARS (Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System)

The protocol was designed by ARINC and deployed in 1978, using the Telex format. More ACARS radio stations were added subsequently by SITA.

SITA is an air transport communications and information technology founded in 1949.

See: sita.aero

and see:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SITA_(com…

Who and what is ARINC?

See:

rockwellcollins.com/Services-and-S…

and

collinsaerospace.com/what-we-do/Ind…

What you need to know is that the owners and operators of non-commercial private aircraft can ask for something called a PIA. Privacy ICAO aircraft address (PIA).

Think of PIA almost like a VPN for aircraft, only your PIA can be discovered using FOIA.

faa.gov/air_traffic/te…

Here's where we get into the legality of flight data.

ALL aircraft registration and flight data is a public record, and IS NOT the same as personally identifiable information (PII), as it is tied to an inatimate object (aircraft), not a person.

Because the FAA places the N-Number registry online (linked to earlier in this thread), and the N-Number is REQUIRED to fly legally in U.S. airspace, plus ADS-B and MLAT are data records kept by the FAA, and the FAA is a federal agency, those records are discoverable by FOIA

The voice communications frequencies of aircraft are also published publicly by the FAA AND the FCC, and governed by both federal agencies.

See the public listing at Radio Reference:

wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Find…

FCC AIrcraft Stations Resource combined with a screenshot from the above Radio Reference link:

fcc.gov/aircraft-stati…

FCC Aircraft Ground Stations Resource:

fcc.gov/wireless/burea…

FCC Frequency Assignment Databases

The FCC places both LICENSING AND Radio Frequency Assignments online for the public to see.

Why?

Because they are complying with the Freedom of Information Act

fcc.gov/fcc-frequency-…

Here's the FCC Aircraft License Search

wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSear…

Using the FCC ULS Database, any person can find and share FCC license and radio frequency assignment data. Even MY license can be found here, which ties me to an address where the FCC can reach me, even if it means using a PO Box.

wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSear…

Here's the FCC ULS search result for American Airlines

I said I was going to incorporate a thread I wrote on this topic. Here's where we get into the fact that the lawful possession and publishing of federal or even state records is not a crime, and not what you would call "Doxxing"

Here's where we learn that the federal government, not the state, governs the right under both federal FOIA law and under the 1st Amendment to seek out and publicly share a lawfully obtained public record.

No case law and no statute prevents this

Can aircraft be exempted under federal FOIA?

Answer: Only federal government aircraft falls under ANY of the NINE FOIA exemptions, and only when there is a national security reason for doing so.

There are several ways in the end to track aircraft:

1. Flight Tracking sites

2. Airline websites

3. FAA and FCC online resources

4. Use of a radio receiver/transceiver (anyone can buy, own, and use one) You just can't transmit unless authorized by law (license)

When it comes to using radio and an antenna to monitor (track) aircraft, you can also buy an inexpensive SDR thumbdrive (dongle) that plugs into a USB port on a phone, tablet, or computer, and with SDR software, you can see and hear radio traffic across the entire radio spectrum

SDR ADS-B monitoring resource

rtl-sdr.com/adsb-aircraft-…

You can also tune-in online by going to atc.net