Friday, March 14, 2014

Flight MH-370 and its lessons

The mystery of the disappeared Malaysian flight MH-370 throws up many questions.

One issue that merits more attention is why passenger aircraft use outdated technology, when far better options exist. We live in an age when a mobile phone conversation almost anywhere in the world can be picked up and analyzed by intelligence agencies. Why then do airlines depend on 'transponders' that date back to some 60 or 70 years, even if modernized in some ways?

Why should we not be able to track passenger aircraft, regardless of numbers involved, in real time, all the time? Why should not comprehensive data be sent out continually by such aircraft?

These are questions that should now be examined, even while effort to resolve the mystery remains a major priority. Is this happening, I wonder.

No comments: