American Flight 11 ACARS Discrepancies Just Before Take-off
An Independent Analysis
According to the official ACARS data contained in the PDF document - 5 AWA 898 Printout between 11:47:30 a.m. (7:47:38 a.m. EST) and 12:00:15 p.m. (8:00:15 a.m. EST) American Airlines Flight 11's ACARS (Downlink) messages sent from the airplane indicates a discrepancy in the identity of the flight number. The flight number is identified as: AA0000. This should not be the case.
Note, there is a noticeable 9 minute gap in the ACARS data communications when the discrepancy occurs just before AAL 11 is due for take-off at 8:01 a.m. EST. The anomalous flight number AA0000 does not exist, yet lists the correct tail number N334AA. In the other instances, it shows the correct flight number AA0011 and correct tail number N334AA. Why is there a 9 minute gap in the ACARS data?
The Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) is a device used to send messages to and from an aircraft. Very similar to text messages and email we use today, Air Traffic Control, the airline itself, and other airplanes can communicate with each other via this "texting" system. ACARS was developed in 1978 and is still used today. Similar to cell phone networks, the ACARS network has remote ground stations installed around the world to route messages from ATC and the airline, to the aircraft depending on its location and vice versa. https://www.skybrary.aero/index.php/Aircraft_Communications,_Addressing_and_ReportingSystem
The ACARS data is sent automatically to the airline, and then the airline forwards the data to the BTS on a regular basis. Ostensibly, no human intervention is involved, thus no human failure is possible, suggesting an airplane with the tail number N334AA took-off without an assigned flight number to it, which was not recorded in the BTS data base?
Does this explain why the BTS listing for AAL 11’s tail number is listed as “unknown”, indicating that it was a different airplane that was at Gate 32, which was not AAL 11, which did not take-off, which was recorded in the BTS data base? A possible switch of the airplane? This needs further investigation!
Thanks for reading and caring!