In October 2022, a mysterious GPS interference incident forced the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to reroute air traffic in Texas. The incident lasted for nearly two days, resulting in the closure of a runway at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and prompting some aircraft in the area to divert to areas with normal signals.
- Exposure and impact of interference
- Investigation and speculation
- Background and impact of the incident
- Conclusion
The interference was first exposed on Monday afternoon when the FAA issued an ATIS (Automatic Terminal Information Service) warning flight crews and air traffic controllers to pay attention to GPS interference in the 40-mile airspace near Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. The report stated that all aircraft GPS signals in the area were unreliable. The Air Traffic Control System Command Center further stated that the interference seriously affected flights in and out of DFW and neighboring airports.
GPS interference monitoring website GPSjam.org released a map showing the specific area of the interference. Operator John Wiseman noted that the interference began around 1 p.m. local time and intensified over the next few hours. Wiseman also provided a time-lapse video detailing how the interference occurred.
This interference incident has attracted the attention of the FAA, and although the interference mysteriously disappeared around 11 p.m. local time, the FAA is still working to find out the cause. FAA officials said in a statement: "The FAA is investigating reports of GPS-guided approach problems at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport and has not found evidence of intentional interference."
Experts are also speculating on the incident. Josh Lospinoso, co-founder and CEO of Shift5, noted that it is not clear whether there are malicious actors behind this incident. He also emphasized the vulnerability of the civilian GPS system, which is susceptible to intentional spoofing and interference.
This interference incident echoes a similar incident in Denver last year, when aircraft within 50 nautical miles around the airport also reported unreliable GPS signals for more than 33 hours. While such interference incidents are usually not life-threatening, they do cause flight cancellations, delays and other inconveniences, and more importantly, they highlight the vulnerability of the global navigation system.
This GPS interference incident once again reminds us that modern aviation traffic is increasingly dependent on navigation systems such as GPS, and the vulnerability of these systems is also becoming increasingly apparent. With the continuous development of technology, we need to pay more attention to and protect these critical infrastructures to ensure the safety and smoothness of aviation traffic.
