5000ft is too high for reliable mobile data. The usual antenna array of UMTS/4G promotes connection up to about 3500ft AGL, 3G and EDGE are less as the antennas are more pointing ground-wards, above 3500ft is lottery. So very sensible circuits may stretch a tad further, but typically the ground towers are unable to cope with these signals at airspeed.
It works in other places though e.g. over the UK. The system has no way of knowing your height; it’s a matter whether you get a signal far enough from the tower to get it at 5000ft. I believe some countries (Belgium and France come to mind) actively blacklist devices contacting too many towers.
It seems they found the wreckage.
Wreckage of the plane carrying Emiliano Sala and piloted by David Ibbotson was located early this morning by the FPV MORVEN. As agreed with the AAIB they moved the GEO OCEAN III over the position we provided them to visually identify the plane by ROV. — David Mearns (@davidlmearns)
dejwu wrote:
5000ft is too high for reliable mobile data.
Perhaps for reliable, but I’ve had reasonable luck up to about 8000 feet coming down and up the east side of England.
From the BBC article :
“They saw the registration number and the biggest surprise is that most of the plane is there,” he added.
The cabin of the PA46 is very robust, so if that’s what they found it doesn’t necessarily say much about ditching/crashing. If the wings are still attached though, that might point towards a ditching, which also correlates well with the reports of red flares. The cushions might have been used as flotation devices, or have floated away when the plane, door open, started to sink.
denopa wrote:
The cabin of the PA46 is very robust, so if that’s what they found it doesn’t necessarily say much about ditching/crashing. If the wings are still attached though, that might point towards a ditching, which also correlates well with the reports of red flares. The cushions might have been used as flotation devices, or have floated away when the plane, door open, started to sink.
Will the PA46 automatically depressurize on descent?
dejwu wrote:
Will the PA46 automatically depressurize on descent?
In a descent to sea level, it would yes,
Edited, news of body in the aircraft suggesting no raft was deployed…
That news doesn’t say anything about a raft to me.
It just says “at least one of them did not manage to get out”.
Graham wrote:
It just says “at least one of them did not manage to get out”.
Unless you have been briefed …. opening the door of a PA46 would be an impossible task especially if confused and in the dark, and if the pilot was knocked out after hitting the water he would of been no use either.
