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Widespread Airplane Grounding Was Due To U-2 Spy Plane Flyover "Overloading" Air Traffic Computers

Tyler Durden's picture




 

One of the more peculiar news from last week was the grounding of all flights for several hours at numerous airports in the Southwestern United States and the grounding of planes bound for the region from other parts of the country.

As so often happens when there is no specific reason at the time, the error was blamed on a computer "glitch" - the computer problem at a Federal Aviation Administration center slowed the journeys of tens of thousands of arriving and departing passengers at LAX.

Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California, John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California, and McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas were among other facilities affected by the order to keep planes grounded.

And that would have been all we heard of it had it not been for some additional digging by NBC which on Saturday, citing unnamed sources, reported a U-2, a Cold War-era spy plane still in use by the U.S. military, "passed through air space monitored by the Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center and appears to have overloaded a computer system at the center."

From Reuters:

Computers at the center began operations to prevent the U-2 from colliding with other aircraft, even though the U-2 was flying at an altitude of 60,000 feet and other airplanes passing through the region's air space were miles below, NBC reported.

 

Sources told NBC News the U-2 plane had a U.S. Defense Department flight plan. "It was a 'Dragon Lady,'" one source told NBC, using the nickname for the plane.

 

FAA spokeswoman Lynn Lunsford would not comment on whether the computer problem at the agency's center on Wednesday was caused by a U-2 flight.

 

"We aren't confirming anything beyond what we already said about it being a software issue that we corrected," Lunsford said in an email to Reuters.

Which probably will be the last we hear of it, even if this clarification raises additional questions: such as

  • Was the US department of defense spying not on foreign countries, and judging by recent events in Ukraine there certainly is a lot of spying to be done, but on the western US?
  • Are US air traffic controllers unquipped to think vertically?
  • What happens to airplane traffic when the Amazon drone army is unleashed?

All question we are sure will be answered in due course.

 

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Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:13 | 4727984 JPM Hater001
JPM Hater001's picture

Bullshit.

First

 

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:14 | 4727990 CH1
CH1's picture

A terrorist attack on our heroic air traffic controllers!

Somebody drone something!

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:17 | 4728006 Headbanger
Headbanger's picture

Like a U-2 or SR-71 never flew over at 60,000 before??

WTF really happened?

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:18 | 4728013 InjectTheVenom
InjectTheVenom's picture

what does Will I Am think about this ?

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:19 | 4728022 nmewn
nmewn's picture

lol

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:26 | 4728040 Gaius Frakkin' ...
Gaius Frakkin' Baltar's picture

I was wondering whether the U2 was flying over a certain altitude which exposed some computer glitch. Like... using a Short Integer for altitude in feet.

That IS the only thing that makes since. Otherwise, they were testing a new Electronic Warfare system and endangering the Plebeians. Thankfully, I gave up my "privilege" of flying because I don't want my testicles squeezed by some ogre.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:30 | 4728061 BandGap
BandGap's picture

Think it through.

You can't tell me a computer doesn't get fried from time to time at any major airport.  So this grounds the entire LA sector, or the whole Southwest? Please, if the system is that fragile.........no, don't even start with that premise.

Could be a dry run for a lot of things, don't discount the ability to ground aircraft in an orderly manner in the LA area. Wasn't there a missile fired there awhile back that people mistook for a WEATHER BALLOON or something?

 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:37 | 4728079 toady
toady's picture

Vandenberg. I was almost stationed there way back when.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:51 | 4728144 Cpl Hicks
Cpl Hicks's picture

It was Francis Gary Powers flying thru a rift in time or a wrinkle in the time flux or maybe I'm just having a senior moment.

Lucy.... I'm home!

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 10:20 | 4728223 Chief KnocAHoma
Chief KnocAHoma's picture

There sure is a LOT of unusual bs flying around:

- MH370 disapers

- MERS/Anti-body resistant accelerating

- Brazil can't get ready for the Olympics (Don't laugh... how big of a hit would it be to a BRIC if the Olympics got pulled?)

- That Ukranie mess

- Ocare and the economy stalled

- Bankers getting offed

- Mexican military testing our Southern border

- Benghazi emails surface and the MSM yawns (AGAIN)

If it gets any weirder I'm gona start seling tickets.

 

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 10:33 | 4728263 lordylord
lordylord's picture

Stop!   You're going to remind the market that gold should be sold.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 10:55 | 4728340 zerozulu
zerozulu's picture

may be an unmanned drone go AWOL.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 10:57 | 4728347 zerozulu
zerozulu's picture

and Armed and Stealth and looking for target

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:49 | 4728138 TheMeatTrapper
TheMeatTrapper's picture

Never attribute anything to conspiracy that can be explained by stupidity. 

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:57 | 4728167 Ignatius
Ignatius's picture

Pappy Bush used to say that very thing.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 10:56 | 4728345 DaveyJones
DaveyJones's picture

 

as if criminals and stupidity are mutually exclusive

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:32 | 4728068 TeamDepends
TeamDepends's picture

It's the Amnesty International U2, with Bono at the helm, doing God's work.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:40 | 4728080 Stackers
Stackers's picture

I can answer a couple of those maybe

 

Was the US department of defense spying not on foreign countries, and judging by recent events in Ukraine there certainly is a lot of spying to be done, but on the western US?

U2's are based out of the southwest. They routinely make training flights that go up to Alaska and back

 

Are US air traffic controllers unquipped to think vertically?

the most likely answer was the U2's "encoder" was sending back the wrong altitude and/or the Center's radar was reading it wrong, making it display into the system at level that would be in conflict with other traffic. Controllers usually quickly get around this when they see it and call and ask the pilot his altitude. It probably was a software glitch in either the plane or the ground radar. "Center" radar also covers a very large area from a single location, so you could get most of So.Cal and Nevada effected by the computers freezing up at "LA Center"

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:49 | 4728134 BandGap
BandGap's picture

You answer your own question. Try this - if U2s "routinely" use this airspace, why is this such a unique event? So unique it shuts down the entire region.

One helluva software glitch.Nope, ain't buying it. It was a test of some sort, either a dry run training mission on how to get planes down and safe in a hurry or a directed, localized EMP.

U2s were never mothballed, they are very useful in their updated version.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:59 | 4728180 Unknown Poster
Unknown Poster's picture

It could be a test of Electronic Counter Measures where they "spoof" the existance of other airplanes electronic signatures. Say ground radar picked up 20 or so planes in imminent danger of collision and devoted most of their resources to disentangling the mess. A bizarre input to a complex system can have unexpected results.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 10:08 | 4728200 BorisTheBlade
BorisTheBlade's picture

Still curious. Both Dragon Lady and ERAM were designed by Lockheed. http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/products/eram.html

Makes you wonder what features Lockheed did embed into civilian system that a single plane could confuse traffic supercomputers to such an extent. Friend-or-foe identification or perhaps ERAM giving higher priority to miltary traffic thereby triggering re-routing for the entire area for civilian traffic, which in area that busy could cause an outage of some sort.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 10:15 | 4728213 stewie
stewie's picture

A plausible theory.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 10:33 | 4728257 Stackers
Stackers's picture

Would not doubt in the least that switch got accidental hit or left on, either by the pilot or ground crew that could screw up ATC computers. It's not as crazy as most people think, if you understand how civilian radar and airplane encoder system works.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:39 | 4728085 MontgomeryScott
MontgomeryScott's picture

AT @ T and Verizon cellular networks also reportedly experienced service losses at the same time. A website that I use in the course of my work (based out of San Diego) was ALSO down at the same time.

BULLSHIT on the U-2 story.

HMMM...

EMP 'beta test', or HAARP mistake, perhaps? Pure speculation (which makes a HELL of a lot more sense than a U-2 causing an issue because ATC computers couldn't tell it was at 60,000 feet).

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:44 | 4728101 Gaius Frakkin' ...
Gaius Frakkin' Baltar's picture

Interesting... that's the first I've heard of other networks being down.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:42 | 4728105 pods
pods's picture

Stuxnet.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 11:03 | 4728368 old naughty
old naughty's picture

Ufo2.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 11:24 | 4728449 Quus Ant
Quus Ant's picture

Possibly.  Stuxnet is nastier and more persistent than people realize.  Open source mayhem.

http://vimeo.com/25118844

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:21 | 4728028 knukles
knukles's picture

It was really Malay 370. 

Another cover-up. OF a cover-up by the high-ups
Wake up people!

sarc, just in case

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:26 | 4728045 SoilMyselfRotten
SoilMyselfRotten's picture

Was Bono doing a cross-country flyover tour?

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:31 | 4728065 jayman21
jayman21's picture

I think Wi Tu Hi was flying this time

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:37 | 4728078 Headbanger
Headbanger's picture

With co-pilot  Soo Phuk Ting Upp.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:56 | 4728163 bigkahuna
bigkahuna's picture

Nope, he was in Colorado.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:22 | 4728031 Vampyroteuthis ...
Vampyroteuthis infernalis's picture

I though U-2s stopped flying decades ago. Who's plane is this really?

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:25 | 4728044 cro_maat
cro_maat's picture

You can buy them on ebay.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:27 | 4728054 Headbanger
Headbanger's picture

LMFAO!

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:35 | 4728075 toady
toady's picture

Yep. U2s were done in the 70s, SR71s were done in the 90s. It's all done with satellites now, unless there's a new top-secret bird since I got out of the loop.

Maybe it was a eBay U2, as suggested below...

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:58 | 4728172 BandGap
BandGap's picture

B-52s were outdated in the 80s, remember? And the A-10 was supposed to be out of the service in the 90s, too. Shit, most of the "smart" bombs dropped in the last 25 years were made in the 70s & 80s. They just retorfit them with precision fins and updated, strapped on, guidance

Satellites can only "see" so much, and they are usually not capable of a multitude of electronics for evaluations.

U2s are still used in the Eurasian thatre, and I think the SR71 is also used on occasion.

 

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 10:24 | 4728233 Beam Me Up Scotty
Beam Me Up Scotty's picture

SR-71's are retired.  Unless they are lying to us about that too.  Which of course is entirely possible.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 12:54 | 4728702 Senseless Urina...
Senseless Urinal Cake's picture

Project Aurora ?

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 13:43 | 4728880 koncaswatch
koncaswatch's picture

U2s were upgraded to the TR-1 in the '80s. The picture is of a TR-1. They now do the bulk of non satellite recon. Quickly mission adaptable.

Ex Lockheed ;-)

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:43 | 4728108 The Luftwaffe
The Luftwaffe's picture

This could be Russian hackers beginning to make their presence and capabilities known. We could potentially see a lot more of it if the US/NATO continue down this insane path in Ukraine.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 18:36 | 4730015 BigJim
BigJim's picture

+1 plausible

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 15:13 | 4729250 Drunken Ecnonomist
Drunken Ecnonomist's picture

My guess? "Software Upgrades" by likely offshored or H1B'd fucktards.

 

The tell?

"We aren't confirming anything beyond what we already said about it being a software issue that we corrected," Lunsford said in an email to Reuters."

 

Unsigned short Int will only take numbers from 0 to 2**16, or...

 

0 to 65,535

 

If there was no assigned 'greater than 65534, set to MAX' then that would cause a cascading fault.

 

FOR FUCKS SAKE... bah, nevermind. Dear FAA / GOV / whoever. STOP USING OFFSHORE FUCKTARDS PLSKTHXBAI.

 

-DE

 

 

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:25 | 4728009 InjectTheVenom
InjectTheVenom's picture

+

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:19 | 4728019 nmewn
nmewn's picture

Veee have jur pilot, Gary Powers, veee begin negotiations after short interrogation.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:20 | 4728024 Oh regional Indian
Oh regional Indian's picture

To me this sounds like "Testing, Testing 1...2..3...."

And after word: Test Successful.

America is in the twilight zone!!!

ori

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:26 | 4728051 Ignatius
Ignatius's picture

Speaking of Twilight Zone, maybe this is when they uncork some phony "alien invasion" as cover for the collapse.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:59 | 4728083 Pure Evil
Pure Evil's picture

Which aliens would those be?

The one's from Mexico or the other one's from Central America?

So can anyone explain why Cinco De Mayo is celebrated in the US?

Do the Mexican's celebrate July 4th, (US independence from Britain) in Mexico?

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 10:43 | 4728286 unrulian
unrulian's picture

Cardassians

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:40 | 4728090 toady
toady's picture

Bullish! Per Krugman anyway...

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 11:38 | 4728489 JRobby
JRobby's picture

Just to see if they could do it

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:13 | 4727985 1stepcloser
1stepcloser's picture

Over flights of the bundy Ranch...must monitor liberty lovers...

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:18 | 4728015 Headbanger
Headbanger's picture

That plus the EPA is measuring all the global warming methane produced by Bundy's cattle so they can shut him down for being a climate terrorist too.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:13 | 4727988 negative rates
negative rates's picture

A case of troubleitis.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:14 | 4727989 drendebe10
drendebe10's picture

Lies, more lies and damn lies. It was really MH 370.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:16 | 4728001 CH1
CH1's picture

Okay, I'll bite. What is MH 370?

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:22 | 4728034 Oh regional Indian
Oh regional Indian's picture

The missing Malaysian 777...

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:27 | 4728053 cro_maat
cro_maat's picture

It is only missing to those not in on the scam.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 10:01 | 4728182 Cpl Hicks
Cpl Hicks's picture

Yeah, those of us in the know, the cognoscenti so to speak, know MH 370 really flew up Michelle's ass. It's lost, hard lost as the coterie whould say. Never to be seen or heard of again.

Know what I mean, Vern?

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 10:21 | 4728229 stewie
stewie's picture

Thanks for a laugh and for teaching me 2 new words!

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:42 | 4728104 toady
toady's picture

Thanks for not be brainwashed by the MSM!

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:21 | 4728030 kill switch
kill switch's picture

The lost Mylasian airplane it's been in all the news,,,well maybe lost..

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 10:29 | 4728243 Azannoth
Azannoth's picture

Brand new 7th season of Lost, pilot (chuckle) episode "MH 370"

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:14 | 4727992 ZeroPoint
ZeroPoint's picture

They were probably live testing to see what would happen.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:15 | 4727994 the not so migh...
the not so mighty maximiza's picture

Russian or Chinese spy plane i bet

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:15 | 4727995 SheepDog-One
SheepDog-One's picture

1 plane, of ANY kind, overloaded the entire air traffic control system? Malarky.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:16 | 4728005 Ignatius
Ignatius's picture

Smells like nonsense, yes.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:24 | 4728008 LawsofPhysics
LawsofPhysics's picture

Like I say below, this must be another onion piece.  There is no way a single plane is going to bring down the entire radar/control grid (unless it was designed to do so of course).

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 11:08 | 4728385 Emergency Ward
Emergency Ward's picture

"This is only a TEST"  "We will neither confirm nor deny"  "Blame Putin"  "Angry passengers will be tasered"  "They fried it, boss"

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:15 | 4727999 Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance's picture

Well....at least they found the needle in the hay stack.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 10:01 | 4728181 bigkahuna
bigkahuna's picture

they found the bullshit on the shit farm...again

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 10:03 | 4728186 Cpl Hicks
Cpl Hicks's picture

It stinks to high heaven and foul enough to gag a maggot off a gut-wagon.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:15 | 4728000 swmnguy
swmnguy's picture

Whatever the hell it really was, it's not a good sign for any of the systems and infrastructure our way of life depends on.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:33 | 4728049 kill switch
kill switch's picture

Our way of life is OVER and accelerating down. It was an illusion anyway...

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:15 | 4728002 nmewn
nmewn's picture

"Are US air traffic controllers unequipped to think vertically?"

lol...apparently so.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:30 | 4728062 negative rates
negative rates's picture

I still don't know what you are looking for.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 10:58 | 4728355 BailoutBandit
BailoutBandit's picture

How can you find what you're looking for where the streets have no name? They have no name, you can't find it!

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:43 | 4728109 MontgomeryScott
MontgomeryScott's picture

I understand completely, NMEWN.

My first ex told me that I was SO 'two-dimensional'...

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:16 | 4728003 Cannon Fodder
Cannon Fodder's picture

Or other possible reasons:

* Hackers took down a system, government decides to mask it by coming up with a story about a U2 plane.

* They needed to do a test run for an upcoming mission. Just so happens that LA area mimics the intended overseas target.

It does seem strange that they would be flying with all their equipment on while over the US. They would surely know that it was going to have an effect. Though of course I have seen similar types of electronic "friendly fire" overseas before.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:29 | 4728056 kill switch
kill switch's picture

LA= Faulse Flag in 4 3 2 1

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:45 | 4728119 toady
toady's picture

LA cops monitoring Compton?

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:53 | 4728151 Cannon Fodder
Cannon Fodder's picture

So maybe the citizens need to talk to the old Ruskies and learn how to take down a U2 and capture their own Gary Powers

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:16 | 4728004 Silverhog
Silverhog's picture

Was Chris Christie the pilot?

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:25 | 4728046 nmewn
nmewn's picture

Not sure a U2 could reach that altitude with him in it.

(Couldn't resist)

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:46 | 4728122 Pure Evil
Pure Evil's picture

Yeah, but think of all the broken windows if they had opened the bomb bay doors and dropped him over LA.

The impact strike would have dwarfed the Chicxulub crater just off the Yucatan Peninsula.

And, Krugman would have been orgasmic.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:17 | 4728007 LawsofPhysics
LawsofPhysics's picture

What is this?  Must be another onion piece.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:18 | 4728012 Dr. Engali
Dr. Engali's picture

This is a test.... this is only a test. In the case of  a real grid down scenario local authorities will be assisted by fema and homeland security to establish a shelter in place... That is all. 

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:20 | 4728025 Cannon Fodder
Cannon Fodder's picture

Please continue to shelter in place until all PMs and guns have been confiscated and anyone of predetermined profiles have been collected and sent to said FEMA camps.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:41 | 4728094 espirit
espirit's picture

NextGen Selective EMP.  Rather than the pilot just blocking his identity. he must have hit the kill switch.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:19 | 4728014 all-priced-in
all-priced-in's picture

Could just be incompetence.

 

 

What does this big red button do?

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:27 | 4728052 Sudden Debt
Sudden Debt's picture

dono but let's turn our keys before we press it!

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:31 | 4728067 kill switch
kill switch's picture

I'm going to hire someone to start my car from now on!!

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:18 | 4728016 dizzyfingers
dizzyfingers's picture

"We aren't confirming anything beyond what we already said about it being a software issue that we corrected..."

Garbage in, garbage out. Why I don't fly anymore.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:21 | 4728026 Oldballplayer
Oldballplayer's picture

It is really amazing.  The U2 has been around since the 1950's.  And they have been stationed at A51 and Edwards, pretty much that entire time.  Yet, this was the first time they ever flew into LAX airspace.  That is quite a record.  Otherwise this would have happened before, right?

I guess we are not supposed to ask even the simplest questions.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:25 | 4728047 Oh regional Indian
Oh regional Indian's picture

True, isn't it? Some of the "stories" or "Official tales" of the why's or hows or what would test a child's credulity.

Like they are makng up the global narrative for kindergardeners...

ori

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:33 | 4728070 cro_maat
cro_maat's picture

They are so confident in their own propaganda that they don't try to hide things anymore.

 

Or they know the melt down is soon and don't give a shit.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:30 | 4728058 Boomberg
Boomberg's picture

This is the first time a U2 has flown in LAX airspace when the ATC software was written in Bangalore. 

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:47 | 4728128 Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill's picture

Harvaard, by my cousin,a long time ago.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:53 | 4728154 Cpl Hicks
Cpl Hicks's picture

Go long Bangalore torpedoes.

This message was approved by Charlie Munger.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 10:26 | 4728237 Navymugsy
Navymugsy's picture

They fly into LA airspace all the time. There's bunches of them in Palmdale at Lockheed going through re-work, the test flights at the range nearby and missions out of Beale that come down to use the test range.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:22 | 4728037 buzzsaw99
buzzsaw99's picture

good thing it wasn't a terrorist that would be bad. oh wait...

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:26 | 4728048 Sudden Debt
Sudden Debt's picture

To be invisible, they have to make sure nobody is arround to see it.

 

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:30 | 4728059 NYPoke
NYPoke's picture

Just a dry run, for Emperor Obama's coronation. 

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:30 | 4728060 CaptainSpaulding
CaptainSpaulding's picture

I'm on the horn with Bono as we speak

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:31 | 4728063 Catullus
Catullus's picture

Total bullshit.

Source: electronics warfare officer in the navy.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:33 | 4728069 f16hoser
f16hoser's picture

This is an Absolute BILLSHIT story. It was probably the same Russian and/or CIA Assholes who shot-out the power station earlier in CA. U2's don't have radar jamming equipment. This is a cover-up, Government False Flag pure and simple. Something big is on the horizon and it includes taking down FAA Radar's. September 11th, 2001, comes to mind...

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:33 | 4728071 Spungo
Spungo's picture

They're still flying shit from 50 years ago?

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:48 | 4728130 espirit
espirit's picture

Where u been?  The USSA is defended by 40's technology.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 10:56 | 4728344 Oldballplayer
Oldballplayer's picture

There are B52's being flown by 3rd Generation pilots.  That sucker will go 5 generations before its grounded for good.  I might guess, there is a fourth generation pilot out there in training or already in the cockpit.

Christ, the Shuttle was 1960's technology.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 14:02 | 4728956 espirit
espirit's picture

I've reviewed some STS blueprints that were dated 1970.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:36 | 4728072 kato
kato's picture

you hobbledehoys including you ZH always trying to spin a whole cloth out of a little thread.

http://fr.flightaware.com/live/flight/NASA806

https://fr.flightaware.com/live/flight/NASA806/history/20140419/2050Z/KP...

 

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:48 | 4728133 KnightTakesKing
KnightTakesKing's picture

So what the hell was that NASA flight doing. Chemtrails?

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:50 | 4728141 Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill's picture

Just a side effect of mushroom syndrome.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:53 | 4728152 Pure Evil
Pure Evil's picture

Why does Debbie Downer always have to show up to poop on the party?

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 13:50 | 4728905 espirit
espirit's picture

Next up, Debbie will explain away that back in the day the Yucatan water hole was not created by a ufo.

Heh, wrap your head around that one DD.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 10:06 | 4728192 sleigher
sleigher's picture

So they're looking for something in the bay area or LA?  What's the point?  Why the shutdown?  What am I missing from your linked pages?

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 10:26 | 4728239 shovelhead
shovelhead's picture

Recon on desert tortises.

Harry's concerned.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 13:53 | 4728916 espirit
espirit's picture

Grid pattern for mapping.  Must tax every structure.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 14:12 | 4728977 espirit
espirit's picture

....or they lost track of a truckload of radionooky-ide smoke detectors.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 09:47 | 4728126 Fix It Again Timmy
Fix It Again Timmy's picture

They're still flying shit from 50 years ago?  Right, when your defense budget is only 1 Trillion dollars a year you have to resort to keeping clunkers in the air...

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 10:14 | 4728211 viahj
viahj's picture

who told you it was a clunker?  for high altitude ops/science, it's still quite a pony. 

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 11:30 | 4728469 Poofter Priest
Poofter Priest's picture

Uh...you forgot about the B-52s ?

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 10:08 | 4728199 dxj
dxj's picture

It's possible that the U2 was flying with the transponder off, which elliminates secondary radar information (altitude). The primary signal (bounce back of radar) does not make it possible to know how high the aircraft is flying. Without altitude information, the computers may have been programmed to assume all altitudes for that flight path and as a consequence of that assumption, re-route a lot more than is required.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 13:58 | 4728932 espirit
espirit's picture

This is Fight Club, and you're making a rational analysis.

Back off before you get called out.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 10:11 | 4728205 Hulk
Hulk's picture

and that was just an airplane spotted off the SoCal coast in November of 2010, definitely not a missile launched from a sub...

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 10:21 | 4728227 shovelhead
shovelhead's picture

Jeff Spicoli ordering pizza?

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 10:27 | 4728242 Spungo
Spungo's picture

"There sure is a LOT of unusual bs flying around:"

It goes with Joe Rogan's take on simulation theory. This is all evidence that this isn't real life. A guy named weener sends dick pics. The house leader is named boner and his skin is orange.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 10:50 | 4728303 Dewey Cheatum Howe
Dewey Cheatum Howe's picture

Sounds like a case of the Obama press team spreading paranoia.

You got to figure they fly these things from inside the US on their way to outside the US in commercial airspace anyways prior so why did this one cause computer problems this time and not the other times?

Smells like someone is spewing misdirection without knowing anything else.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 10:56 | 4728333 pupdog1
pupdog1's picture

So, a US senator can have a 200-man execution squad to Waco his own people, but the US civilian air traffic control system is a rat's nest of duct tape, chewing gum, used string, and bailing wire.

And don't forget $60 billion for the TS@, who has never actually caught a terr@rist.

Fuck me.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 10:56 | 4728343 I Write Code
I Write Code's picture

U-2 pilot tried to use his Target MasterCard for the IFE system.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 11:33 | 4728478 Poofter Priest
Poofter Priest's picture

I guessing either it was a 'test run' to veryify the capability of scrambling air traffic systems or somebody forgot to turn something off on the fly over.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 11:44 | 4728512 kchrisc
kchrisc's picture

I guess they're still using Atari 800s or commodore 64s.

 

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 12:49 | 4728666 conspicio
conspicio's picture

Despite the grand theories of many, this likely has everything to do with a software error and nothing to do with an active device aboard the U-2. It is common for flight plan data to be limited in character string length and if it is exceeded, then the software has to deal with it. My guess is this software, which happens to be fairly new, could not deal with it in a forward fashion and gummed up everything as it sought the resolution. But the more outrageous theories serve a purpose to reinforce the tribal belief system, so we tend to accept them in the absence of rational explanation. My guess is this was a snowball of ground based software errors. The fact that it was a U-2 on a persumably l-o-n-g flight plan to who knows where...just fuel for the fire. The odd thing is many UAVs like the Global Hawk fly similarly long missions but likely file differently than manned missions. Regardless, this isn't the first time the U-2 has been in this airspace, just the first time the computer would have been confused by the data associated with the aircraft. combining that with new En Route Automation software and voila...

Besides, the U-2 doesn't have the aux power available to carry an active package that would be capable of messing with the systems described.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 12:57 | 4728714 Dewey Cheatum Howe
Dewey Cheatum Howe's picture

Also this still doesn't explain the east coast groundings. If it was one plane some airports inbetween should have been affected also including IAD.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 13:06 | 4728753 kurt
kurt's picture

Yeah, sure.

I added a "flux capacitor" to my 1962 Rambler American and it messed up the speakers at all the Carl's Juniors and Hardees!

I put a whirly bird hat on my dog and it spooked all the birds.

I put apocalypse illuminati game card in my bicycle spokes with a clothes pin and all the grasshoppers became very still.

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 15:06 | 4729219 Cathartes Aura
Cathartes Aura's picture

thanks for those, good to laugh sometimes. . .

here's an-other: 

this ZH post time sig?  look UP ^^^

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 13:18 | 4728791 tony wilson
tony wilson's picture

my god

ohh the humanity

thelema get jack bauer on his mobile car con fone.

looks like we got a pilot who has converted to islam at 60k feet.

he is heading back down to earth.

god damn alqueda.

pray for the innocent jews that may die.

 

 

Mon, 05/05/2014 - 14:53 | 4729137 Joe A
Joe A's picture

How about this for an idea: It was some sort of test run designed to flood, confuse and therefore to immobilize air traffic control systems. Question is, how did military air traffic control systems handle this event?

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