Why does GPS not find AirAsia aircraft missing?

Finding a missing plane is not as simple as looking for a phone. Furthermore, GPS on the plane as well as on the phone becomes useless when the plane crashes to the ground, or the phone falls from the 10th floor.

Many passenger and luggage bodies have been found emerging in Karimata Strait. Those are the latest clues to the final resting place of AirAsia QZ 8501 flight - Airbus A320-200 aircraft and 162 passengers and crew disappeared after 42 minutes of takeoff from Indonesia to Singapore on Sunday. (December 28).

According to Indonesia's Kompas Television, these objects were discovered by an Indonesian rescue force pilot floating in Java waters, about 105 miles (169km) from the Pangkalan Bun region.

The area of ​​the rescue force discovered that the debris believed to be missing by AirAsia aircraft

In addition, some smoke has been detected from the island of Belitung, off the east coast of Sumatra island. There are two fishermen from Kubu village, Borneo saw an explosion on the sea and is believed to be bringing search officials to the scene.

Images of floating objects found in the sea

But in the era of WiFi and GPS almost everywhere in smartphones, a question is raised: Why do we depend on signals such as smoke, objects floating on the sea or dependent on words? say of the fishermen, on the picture that the crew must look through the fuzzy glass of the airplane window looking deep into the sea hundreds of feet to search for an airplane?

The answer lies in investment priorities.

Modern aircraft, such as QZ 8501, have a GPS system called ADS-B , which provides positioning of aircraft. However, it only works when the plane is flying normally - once the plane is crashing to the ground, this GPS navigation system has no effect, the GPS on your phone is similar.

"People often compare this situation with Apple's Find My Phone application," said John Walton, a British journalist who writes aviation. "But that application cannot give you much information if your phone is rushing from the 10th floor to the ground."

The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines MH370 in March, believed to have been missing in the southern Indian Ocean along with 239 people on it, quickly sparked a furious reaction about why Do not use better technology to track missing aircraft.

In fact, both the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization of the United Nations (ICAO) have "made efforts" to develop the necessary technology.

In December 2014, IATA members vetoed a plan to recommend temporary technology development. Industry insiders say there are many objections because new GPS technology is too expensive. It is still unclear how many lives this technology will actually save, and with difficult investment options due to the fierce market competition, the airline industry is better off pouring money into improvements that help safer planes, not technology that helps find planes after it goes missing.

AirAsia QZ8501 flight route map

Despite the terrible aviation disasters - including Malaysia Airlines' MH17 aircraft crashed in Ukraine in July, and the Air Algeria plane crash in Mali also in July 2014 left 116 people dead. Network - 2014 is still considered the safest year in history in terms of fatal aviation accidents.

According to a study, "aviation is three times more secure than it was 20 years ago . " This is largely due to improvements in technology and training, stimulated by large investments. So, while passenger planes may disappear without a trace, it is undeniable how reliable the aircraft is. It is still the safest means of transport in the world.