Why isn't that plane showing on the map?
Either it isn't broadcasting its position, it's broadcasting without saying who it is, or no receiver nearby can hear it. Military aircraft, older small planes and low flights in remote areas are the usual suspects.
How planes get onto the map
Live aircraft maps are built from ADS-B broadcasts: each aircraft’s transponder sends out its identity, GPS position, altitude and speed by radio. Networks of volunteer receivers on the ground pick those messages up and share them. A plane goes missing from the map when one of those steps fails.
1. It doesn’t broadcast ADS-B
In the US, ADS-B Out has been required since 2020 in the busiest airspace: around major airports, and everywhere above 10,000 feet. A small plane that stays out of that airspace doesn’t need it, and plenty of older Cessnas and Pipers fly without it. Gliders, balloons, ultralights and drones usually don’t broadcast it either.
2. It’s military
Military aircraft can switch broadcasting off for operational or training reasons, and many reply to radar with a transponder code but never broadcast their position. Others broadcast normally, especially transports and tankers like the KC-135 flying in civilian airspace. Fighters in a training area are the most likely to be missing.
3. It’s broadcasting without a name
Some owners use privacy programs. In the US, the FAA’s privacy program lets an aircraft fly with a temporary address and callsign, so the signal is there but doesn’t point to the real airframe. Some positions also come from ground radar rebroadcast to aircraft (TIS-B), which carry temporary addresses rather than an identity. Maps handle these differently: some hide them, some show a nameless dot.
4. No receiver can hear it
ADS-B works by line of sight. A helicopter flying low in a valley, or any aircraft over the ocean or a remote area, can drop off the map simply because there’s no receiver close enough. It usually reappears as it climbs or gets closer to a town.
5. It’s there, just delayed
Some maps delay or filter data. A plane you watched take off may appear a moment later, or slightly behind where you see it.
Ghost signals
When Bogey hears an aircraft that won’t say what it is (no callsign, no known type), it doesn’t hide it. It shows a ghost signal. Ghosts are their own rarity tier in the collection, and figuring out what one really is makes a good story. Every plane is a bogey until you know what it is.
