question for Left Seater and other fly guys

[Wolfman]

I'm reading about some hacker being able to get into the systems and control an airliner while in flight. Any truth to this? If so, then all the TSA inspections of grannies in wheelchairs are a total waste of time and $$. Maybe that's what happened to that Malaysia plane?

Here's a link:

http://www.wired.com/2015/05/feds-say-b ... red-plane/

[Imus]

I thought Squadron Leader and Chief Pilot AP might chime in, he probably knows the activation code for that. I'm told they give out secret codes now with Thunderbird "wine" liter boxes.

[Dinsdale]

Sorry, Imus -- no sale.

AP does, however, have the ability to remotely control Russian subs, which he will subsequently capture singlehandedly.

[Atomic Punk]

Yes I do shitmus troll. Yes I do. Did you know I can also activate the door locks for Soviet submarines to expose the screen doors? I bet you didn't know that did you shit flop? I bet you as the coward owner of said shit troll thinks you're so cool.

I have eternal on you.

[Rooster]

The answer is yes. Just like cargo ships and LPG tankers, modern aircraft can be spoofed into doing something a hacker wants, particularly in small and incremental ways. In the military it used to be call MIJI which in essence was the enemy sending out a signal over a legitimate one by using a stronger beam or transmitter and causing an unwary aviator to steer towards it, away from from the actual radio source. The North Koreans were famous for doing this in continued efforts to embarrass the US and South Korean governments by capturing our troops.

The concern is that with the maritime industry that these large ships are staffed by a very small crew. If a hacker were to be able to gain control of, say, an LPG tanker, he could accelerate the ship as it nears the harbor and steer it towards a vital shipping center, leveling it by the ensuing catastrophic explosion as it impacted the shore.

These concerns may be minimal in reality, but the fact that it can be done is worrisome to defense strategists.

[Left Seater]

Is it possible? Yes.

Is it likely? No.

Can pilots do something about it? Yes, depending on their level of competency.

One can always ignore everything the computer is telling you and just use your flying skills. Take for example the Air France crash in the Atlantic a few years ago. Plane is cruising along nice and fine when suddenly the computer spits out an over speed warning. That crew assumed the computer was correct and started trying to raise the nose to slow the plane. They kept raising the nose until it stalled (while still getting an over speed warning). The stall lead to the death of all aboard.

Had the crew approached the over speed warning differently they would likely still be alive. Let's see everything is nice and fine and then suddenly there is an over speed warning. Weird. Let's think about this. Did the throttle setting change? No? Are the engines showing expected and normal values? Yes. Did the wind direction change? Possibly since there are thunderstorms in the area. Are we making ice? Yes? Is the anti ice system on? No? Turn it on and see if the over speed warning clears.

Someone on the ground can give me bad info and false info, but they can't take away my knowledge or my experience. It can always hand fly the plane and take my chances.

[Atomic Punk]

The thing that worries me is US Airways bought out American Airlines and are replacing the fleet with Airbus aircraft that are fly-by-wire. My best friend from USC and the USN had to upgrade from the Boeings to Airbus for some contract reason. Well, I flew to Texas as a PAX a few weeks ago on an Airbus A-319 and I wondered how good the pilots were in case of an emergency.

I talked to the captain that has been with US Airways for years (my tickets said American Airlines) and he told me the gate number at Houston was A-19 from Phoenix. Same gate when I returned to PHX.

1st class is always cool BTW... for the shit tards that will respond with weak responses as usual... suck on. Mop jizz floors and dream...

Nicer if a trusty Lefty could let me jump seat a ride in a G series and I would pay my fair share.

[BSmack]

Yes I do shitmus troll. Yes I do. Did you know I can also activate the door locks for Soviet submarines to expose the screen doors? I bet you didn't know that did you shit flop? I bet you as the coward owner of said shit troll thinks you're so cool.

I have eternal on you

[Rooster]

The headline today:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/05/18/fb ... ng-flight/

[Left Seater]

Here is my issue with this story and similar stories across the web.

The freaking plane never flew sideways. USAToday had a headline saying the plane flew sideways. Uhh no it didn't. No even close. At least this article just has the one sentence. But newspapers don't really care about facts it would appear. Clicks are more important than truth.

If, big if, this guy had control of engine thrust, and set one at a higher setting than the other nothing would happen. Worst case is the plane would turn in a large circle. If he didn't have control of the auto pilot nothing would have happened as the auto pilot would have kept the plane on course.

Another epic fail by the "media."

[Wolfman]

I sure hope so. I have similar thoughts about the future of self driving cars. Like the "what could possibly go wrong" question. The next thing is waiting for the first incident of a drone colliding with an airliner full of people.

[Diego in Seattle]

[Jerkovich]

Total bullshit. I worked at CD Zodiak, who makes first class seating, as a final Inspector on the seating and that included the IFE system. The thing is that besides the common electrical connection the data system is completely isolated from any flight control systems. There is absolutely no way that he could do anything that he said, however it's a felony to tamper with any AC component so guess he'll go to jail for being stupid.