Jehrler: "If it did have such capability and these systems need to ping the satellites (even when not transmitting any data) ala a cell phone, then why has it taken this long for anyone to notice that these satellite signals lasted for 4 extra hours after the last communication?"
Jehrler, Even if an aircraft is equipped with satcom equipment to relay ACARS, it's a common mistake to assume, that it's communicating directly with a satellite. Instead, it communicates with a ground station, that relays it up to a satellite. Many areas don't have a ground station near enough to the aircraft, to get a good enough signal. Although technology exists, where commercial passenger planes could communicate directly with satellites, there's a lag in implementation, because it has to be tested to make sure it doesn't cause unexpected problems with other systems on the plane. Then standards have to be agreed upon, so it's usually a long time, between the time a technology comes into existence, and it's implementation on an airliner. Even changing the type of coffee maker in an airliner's galley takes years!
Last edited by Coagie; 13th Mar 2014 at 21:24.
Reason: Moved a quotation mark