Elon Musk and the Gulfstream G650ER.
Patrick Pleul/picture alliance/Getty Images/Courtesy of Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation
20-year-old Jack Sweeney has created myriad Twitter accounts that track private jets, like Elon Musk’s.
To dodge Sweeney and other trackers, many celebrities have signed up for free federal programs that help them fly incognito.
The programs are not foolproof, and some high-profile people have ditched private jet ownership altogether.
The now 20-year-old uses a public website called ADS-B Exchange, which was founded in 2016 by IT professional Dan Streufert, to track the tail number, and a bot automatically uploads the flights to @ElonJet on Twitter.Floyd Mayweather’s jet landing in Las Vegas on October 31.
ADS-B Exchange via Twitter
Source: ADS-B Exchange, Twitter
The website aggregates flight information with the help of over 7,500 volunteer-run radios around the world that receive information from ADS-B-equipped aircraft, Streufert told the Airplane Geeks podcast.The cockpit of the G280.
Abby Wallace/Insider.
Source: LinkedIn, Airplane Geeks
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, ADS-B broadcasts information like GPS location, altitude, and ground speed from one plane to ground stations and other aircraft. This happens once per second.
Ulrich Zillmann/Getty Images
Source: FAA
The FAA required all operators to equip their aircraft with ADS-B technology by 2020 to fly in most controlled airspace. The agency says the move improves safety and efficiency, particularly in high-traffic airports like New York and Miami.The FAA’s Air Traffic Control System Command Center (ATCSCC).
Daniel Lippman/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Source: FAA
Now, the account has nearly 500,000 followers.Elon Musk has a Gulfstream G650ER private jet (not the one pictured).
Courtesy of Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation
Source: Twitter
…@ZuccJet at about 16,000 followers…
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Source: Twitter
…and @CelebrityJets at nearly 125,000 followers, which tracks high-profile people like Floyd Mayweather, Blake Shelton, and Mark Wahlberg.Mark Wahlberg’s Bombardier Global Express jet.
Honeywell
Source: Twitter
The Federal Aviation Administration has created a program called “Limiting Aircraft Data Displayed,” or LADD for short. Because they use FAA data, websites like FlightAware and FlightRadar24 will not show LADD-registered planes.Celebrities are being criticized over their private jet usage.
JethuynhCan/Getty Images
Source: FAA
If, for example, someone searched for Trump’s 757 tail number — N757AF — on FlightAware, the screen would say the plane “is not available for public tracking per request from the owner/operator.”
FlightAware
Source: FlightAware
Trump, along with Travis Scott, Drake, Steven Spielberg, and dozens of others, have signed up for the free program in an effort to dodge the tracking accounts of Sweeney and others.Drake.
Kathy Hutchins/Shutterstock
Source: Twitter
Sweeney has even created a “LADD List” that houses all of the tail numbers that he estimates have signed up.Drake’s Boeing 767 private jet, dubbed “Air Drake,” is on the LADD list.
Laurent Thomet/AFP via Getty Images
Source: Jack Sweeney
While, on the surface, this seems like a reliable way to avoid being tracked, Sweeney is thwarting their plans by using ASD-B Exchange. The website does not use FAA data, so it can display any flight regardless of if it is on the LADD list or not.Puma/Jay Z’s jet tracked on ADS-B Exchange with LADD indicator.
ADS-B Exchange
Streufert, who runs the ADS-B Exchange website, says it’s gathered from “all public information,” according to an interview with the AFP. “We have not removed anything so far,” he told the AFP. “And I don’t want to be the arbiter of who’s right and who’s wrong.”
flyExclusive
So, unfortunately for private jet owners, LADD isn’t going to cut it. But, there is another free FAA program they can use that is more secure.Inside a King Air 350i.
Taylor Rains/Insider
The program is called the “privacy ICAO aircraft address program,” or PIA. This allows people to substitute their tail number for a temporary one not assigned to any other aircraft, allowing them to fly incognito.
Kevin Kurek/picture alliance via Getty Images
Musk actually sought advice from Sweeney on how to avoid being tracked and the mogul suggested PIA, as shown in a Twitter DM exchange Sweeney shared with Insider.Direct message exchange between Elon Musk and Jack Sweeney.
Jack Sweeney
However, despite having PIA, the planes can still be followed: “These privacy mitigation programs are effective for real-time operations but do not guarantee absolute privacy,” the FAA told Insider.ADS-B Exchange has a “PIA” filter that will show all aircraft currently flying with the program.
ADS-B Exchange
For example, Musk flew from Texas to California on May 7, and while ADS-B Exchange did not display the real tail number, it flagged the jet as PIA and it was still uploaded to @ElonJet by Sweeney’s bot.Elon Musk’s private jet flight with PIA flag, tracked by Jack Sweeney.
Jack Sweeney via ADS-B Exchange
Source: Twitter
The FAA also noted to Insider that a Freedom of Information Act request, LiveATC, and frequently departed airports can also be used to identify PIA planes.LiveATC allows anyone to tap into the conversations between air traffic control and aircraft.
eyfoto/Getty Images
Source: Live ATC
“Elon Musk, for example, has a Gulfstream and there’s only so many people that fly that particular plane out of Brownsville, Texas, and fly to the same airports,” Sweeney told Insider.Inside a typical G650ER (not Elon Musk’s).
Taylor Rains/Insider
With all of the loopholes to the FAA’s privacy programs, the agency admits it is not a “silver bullet,” prompting some celebrities and big names in business to ditch owning private jets altogether.The Bombardier Global 7500 is the largest purpose-built private jet in the world.
Thomas Pallini/Insider
