50 MAY 2020 ÇPlane&Pilot
changes—changes that the FAA seems ready, indeed, even
eager, to comply with.
FAA TRANSMITTED FLIGHT DATA
Protecting your privacy requires an understanding about
where your flight data goes and how it leaves the security
of the FAA and ATC. The best way to understand this is to
break it down into two parts: data coming out of the FAA/
ATC vs. data coming out of your aircraft.
The FAA has a data feed, known as the System Wide
Information Management (SWIM) network. SWIM is the
digital data delivery platform that turns raw National
Airspace System (NAS) data into meaningful information
for aviation stakeholders. Registered consumers have
access to more than 100 information products, including
flight plans filed and flight information for actively tracked
flights by ATC. Everything you file on your flight plan is sent
out on the SWIM network, along with everything that ATC
receives from your aircraft while you are within range of
ATC tracking systems and/or while using ATC services.
Anyone can subscribe to the SWIM network and begin
using this flight data—any company or any individual. All
it takes is filling out a short application and agreeing to
some basic rules on how you publish the data. Well-known
companies such as FlightAware and Flightradar24 are
subscribers to the SWIM network, along with hundreds
of other companies, airlines, schools, individuals and the
Department of Defense.
If you’re flying on a flight plan, chances are that a lot
of people out there know how many people you reported
are on board, your fuel at departure, pilot, remarks and
other things that you might assume were only being used
by the FAA.
DIRECTLY TRANSMITTED FLIGHT DATA
As noted earlier, the FAA isn’t the only source for flight
data. The ADS-B transmitter on your aircraft is continu-
ously transmitting information about your aircraft, posi-
tion, speed, etc. This includes three important pieces of
information about your aircraft:
- Aircraft ICAO Identifier (a hex number that translates
to your N-Number on the FAA Registry) - N-Number (used by most U.S. GA pilots)
- or ...Flight ID (used by businesses, airlines and
some individuals)
Since ADS-B is an open technology, anyone with an
ADS-B receiver can listen in on the transmissions from
aircraft flying overhead, gather the flight data, and share
it with others.
And share it they do. The FAA controls access to data
from the SWIM network, and companies have been con-
cerned from the beginning about losing access to this
data if the privacy rules were to change. This, in addition
to the quest to fill in any gaps in ADS-B coverage, has
led to the emergence of a massive, worldwide private
ADS-B receiver network. Companies like Flightradar24
have programs offering people free ADS-B receivers to
help enhance their networks, and organizations such as
ADS-B Exchange help people build or acquire inexpensive
receivers to contribute to their network—a network that
is completely independent from the SWIM network.PROTECTING YOUR PRIVACY
Depending on the ADS-B system you’ve installed and the
type of flying you do, there are a variety of options to help
you protect your privacy:- UAT ANONYMOUS MODE
There are two types of ADS-B systems when it comes
to the data they transmit “OUT,” and they are identified
by the frequency that they use: 1090 and 978 (UAT).
1090 is the worldwide standard and has no limitations
on altitude or where it can be used. UAT, on the other
hand, is limited to flights within the U.S. and below
18,000 feet. However, UAT systems have one significant
advantage when it comes to privacy: Anonymous Mode.
UAT systems can be installed with a switch to turn on
Anonymous Mode when the aircraft is squawking 1200
on a transponder and not using ATC services. Once
enabled, the ADS-B sends out “VFR” in place of the
N-Number in the transmission data. However, this only
works when you are squawking 1200 and your ICAO is
still in the data feed, so it has limited value for protect-
ing your overall privacy. - FAA LIMITING AIRCRAFT DATA
DISPLAYED (LADD) PROGRAM
To help protect pilots, the FAA recently launched the
LADD program. This is an evolution of the previous
Block Aircraft Registry Request (BARR) program that
limits participating aircraft data in the SWIM network.
Within the LADD program, aircraft owners have two
options to protect their data: Source-Level Blocking
and Subscriber-Level Blocking.
You can enroll in LADD for free on the FAA’s website.
If you choose Source-Level Blocking, your aircraft’s
data will be scrubbed from the FAA SWIM data feed
entirely. Participating websites such as FlightAware or
Flightradar24 will never receive your data (at least not
from the FAA). If you choose Subscriber-Level Blocking,
your aircraft flight data will be sent to all subscribers,
but they will be restricted from displaying it publicly.
Essentially, all SWIM participants are required to ref-
erence the LADD database and remove those aircraft
from public display. Subscriber-Level Blocking still
allows those companies to provide tracking services
to the owners of the aircraft, but they usually charge a
fee for this tracking as a premium service.
Unfortunately, the LADD program only protects
the data that comes from the FAA through the SWIM