Flightaware N number spoofing?

NorthEast Ohio

NorthEast Ohio

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Jul 4, 2020
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NorthEast Ohio
I keep getting alerts from flightaware.com that my N number has been flying all around Europe in the past couple weeks. I’m assuming some bizjet is spoofing my transponder code. Is there anything I can do about this? Because, I know my airplane has been safely locked away in its hangar during its northeast Ohio winter hibernation.
… Or is it? I think I’m gonna drive out to the airport this afternoon and check on my hangar.
 
NorthEast Ohio said:
I keep getting alerts from flightaware.com that my N number has been flying all around Europe in the past couple weeks. I’m assuming some bizjet is spoofing my transponder code. Is there anything I can do about this? Because, I know my airplane has been safely locked away in its hangar during its northeast Ohio winter hibernation.
… Or is it? I think I’m gonna drive out to the airport this afternoon and check on my hangar.
Click to expand...

Shoot! You finally caught me!
 
You could call the airport it lands at. I have alerts setup on flightaware, it lets me know when I takeoff and land, I assume you have the same.
 
MooneyDriver78 said:
I have alerts setup on flightaware, it lets me know when I takeoff and land, I assume you have the same.
Click to expand...

How come you don't know when you took off or landed???? Weren't you present for those events????? :D :D
 
EdFred said:
I looked that up. Looks like that's geared more towards passenger jets.
Click to expand...
Or corporate.

He didn't say what type of plane was "spoofing" his number.

Pulling his leg, of course, but who knows?? :eek2:
 
There are other reasons for a wrong N number being used. For example, the transponder has the wrong N number or transponder code value entered. A simple transposition of two digits would do it. The other situation is that the flight is receiving flight following and the controller enters the wrong N number or uses a shortened version.
 
Apparently this aircraft operated in the US for some years with different codes in it's two transponders. They appear to switch transponders every leg. I noticed the not-joined-up ADSB legs. It even passed very close to the White House (3 miles) showing the weird wrong country code. No one shot it down.

The link shows legs from both the icao numbers all mixed together.

"hange.com/?icao=a4d85d,60d85d&lat=36."
[This code seems to be from a regional block 06 00 00 to 67 ff ff allocated to MID (the Middle East?), but is NOT in a sub-block presently used within the region. https://www.aerotransport.org/html/ICAO_hex_decode.html]


ADS-B Exchange - track aircraft live

ADS-B Exchange - track aircraft live - aircraft flight history
globe.adsbexchange.com globe.adsbexchange.com

Click on a leg on the map and hover over the airplane icon to see the hex ID for that leg.

The extraneous straight dashed tracks are the result of AdsbExchange trying to make sense of how the airplane got from here to there without being tracked by it's code. For example a4d85d landed at Spartanburg then took off from Martha's Vineyard. It's a timewarp:eek: Just ignore them if you want to see where the airplane went and when.


1711154948182.png 1711155030129.png

1711155149698.png
 
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My guess is that if two transponders are being used, one is not set with the proper ICAO code value. If only a single transponder is being used, then I would expect a failure in the code being broadcast. UJC is ULTIMATE JETCHARTERS, INC. (NORTH CANTON, OH) according to FAA order 7340.2M.
 
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