FlightAware Shows A Flight I never Made

Mooney Fan

Mooney Fan

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Mooney Fan
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You mean flight aware not ForeFlight, right? (I confuse the two all the time also)

I’ve seen this more than once. In one case the person intentionally entered the wrong info to avoid attention. Never figured out how it happened the other time, but I was looking at the plane ForeFlight claimed to be tracking more than 1000 miles away.
 
Salty said:
You mean flight aware not ForeFlight, right? (I confuse the two all the time also)

I’ve seen this more than once. In one case the person intentionally entered the wrong info to avoid attention. Never figured out how it happened the other time, but I was looking at the plane ForeFlight claimed to be tracking more than 1000 miles away.
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Yes, flightaware. My bad. I edited my post. Thx
 
Received a response for flightaware. Appears Boston Center entered the wrong tail number on a flight they handled.
=============================

Thank you for contacting FlightAware and for providing the direct link!

We are sorry for this confusion. When we receive inquiries like this, we usually are able to determine that there may have been a typo on a filed flight plan or an aircraft with a similar tail number may have been logged incorrectly by ATC. Incidents such as this do happen on rare occasion, but it should not be any cause for alarm.

Looking at the track log for N8867N, it seems we did receive information from Boston Center and New York Center indicating it was operating. Since you were able to confirm that the aircraft did not actually depart, this would mean that ATC incorrectly logged this ident.

You can refer to the track log for each flight to see who is listed as the reporting facility: https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/N8867N/history/20250723/0016Z/KBAF/KISP/tracklog

If you have any further questions, please let us know.

Best regards,
Amber E.

--
FlightAware
 
On your next pre-flight if you notice any white powdery substances in the cabin, be careful where and how you dispose of it.
 
FlightAware showed a flight in my plane in California since I’ve owned it. I’ve never flown in California.
 
Yup, happened to me when my plane was in annual. My wife thought the mechanic was flying around in California! Same issue - ATC used the wrong N# for someone.
 
Hasn't happened to me since installing ADSB, but it did happen 2 or 3 time soon after I bought the Bonanza in 2015.
 
My plane (actually, my N-number) would show up down in south Florida a number of times. It was just a fat fingered entry by ATC.
 
Saw that with a N number I used to fly. Just a mistake unless the Comanche I used to fly in Colorado morphed into a Cessna 152 in Florida.
 
donjohnston said:
My plane (actually, my N-number) would show up down in south Florida a number of times. It was just a fat fingered entry by ATC.
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Seems ADSB would be in conflict with what the controllers were looking at. Plane departed a Class C.

Maybe I’ll post in the ATC forum and get their take.
 
Had a flight to Nampa, Idaho, KMAN. Flightaware showed it as (non-stop) to Manchester, England.
 
Apparently I once flew from Virginia to Pennsylvania and landed. Then a (?) ghost flew my plane directly to Nevada. Especially interesting that it went to Nevada and back in about an hour. Clearly I need to patent something quickly.

Oh wait Nevada how did I not figure it out before…alien flew it
 
Salty said:
You mean flight aware not ForeFlight, right? (I confuse the two all the time also)

I’ve seen this more than once. In one case the person intentionally entered the wrong info to avoid attention. Never figured out how it happened the other time, but I was looking at the plane ForeFlight claimed to be tracking more than 1000 miles away.
Click to expand...
You mean flightaware, not foreflight, right?
 
There's one track on flightaware for a plane I used to own... a flight longer than the plane's range, cruising well over my plane's Vne, and my plane had no transponder, adsb, and no electrical system.
 
billsgs126 said:
Who would correct it? (Serious question.)
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ATC or pilot when he ATC reads the N number back to the pilot. I’ve had to correct them when they get it wrong on initial call up. Even if not then, flying into a Class C airport the transponder surely was in disagreement.
 
Mooney Fan said:
ATC or pilot when he ATC reads the N number back to the pilot. I’ve had to correct them when they get it wrong on initial call up. Even if not then, flying into a Class C airport the transponder surely was in disagreement.
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Does that correction feed into the third-party* services. (I don't know, and am only asking out of curiosity.)

* I truly hate spell-wreck.
 
I used to fly N98189, ATC was always fat fingering that one, even messing it up it on the radio.
 
Happens to me all the time, that is ATC inputting the incorrect tail number, and I just flightaware searched that and found some flights that I made under the wrong tail number :dunno:
 
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