MH370
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Malaysia Airlines will be first to monitor its planes by satellite
Three years ago, Malaysia Airlines flight 370 disappeared over the South China Sea, starting an multinational hunt for the plane. Despite rumors of a sophisticated hijacking or seizure of the aircraft by a foreign government, it was presumed lost in the ocean. To prevent another disaster over open water, the UN pushed for particular plane signal system that can be tracked from the ground or by satellite. But Malaysia Airlines just struck a deal to use a network of the latter that will enable them to monitor their planes anywhere they fly on earth -- including over the polar ice caps.
Loss of flight MH370 prompts UN satellite tracking agreement
Following the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 last year, the United Nations agreed to use global satellite tracking for passenger airliners. Under the terms of the deal, nations can use specific radio frequencies to monitor planes via satellite rather than solely relying on radar-driven technology on the ground. With a target of 2017, aircraft capable of sending Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) signals to the ground will also communicate with satellites to track their movements. Shortly after the MH370 tragedy, Inmarsat offered airlines free satellite tracking for more accurate location info. With this week's agreement, the UN aims to keep an eye on the 70 percent of the world's surface than the ground-based systems can't cover. In theory, the use of satellite tracking would reduce the chance of another flight disappearing without a trace. [Image credit: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images]
Inmarsat offers airlines free global tracking to prevent another MH370
After the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, the idea that a plane could simply vanish in an age of information seemed impossible. Satellite company Inmarsat is pledging to prevent the situation from happening again, and will offer tracking services to every passenger airline, free of charge. In the system, all planes would ping Inmarsat's tracking stations every 15 minutes, sending precise location, heading and speed and altitude data to authorities. The proposal will be considered at the International Civil Aviation Organization's meeting, which begins in Montreal later today.
