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That's right. You don't understand. That's the most honest thing you've said in this entire thread. "Functioning" is a relative term. Alt-Off mode does not means dysfunction. De-moded into A/B/C does not mean dysfunction. Even not responding to interrogations does not necessarily mean dysfunction, or malfunction.
What I have said is that our Media has trolled down the path of what it calls "possibilities," without telling the American People anything about how a modern commercial airliner can indeed receive ground based signals through its SATCOM ACARS system, and how that signal can end up being routed through to the flight controls of the aircraft. That's what I'm saying here.
They are not telling you everything that you need to know and it is not because they don't know it. You are being kept in the dark about how that works and my question is WHY?
I'm using CNN as the whipping boy today, but no one out there in the Media is telling the full truth about HOW this aircraft could have been remotely controlled. The failed to tell you that after September 11th, 2001, as well. I'm seeing it happen yet again.
It damn sure does not turn the transponder full off that's for certain - if integration is TACAS Mode-S. And, how does one reach the circuit breaker for the Boeing 777 transponder? Do you know where it is located? Do you know which fuse to pull once you found your way to the Boeing 777 fuse panel? Your question adds a level of complexity and knowledge that tremendously narrows the field of potential human beings capable of making this a local on-board job. How much knowledge about the Boeing 777 electrical system do you have to have, in order to pull the correct stop?
Really? Is that what my 15 years at places like Oracle, Hyperion, Brio, Hummingbird, Actuate and SAP tell you? I was a enterprise software systems engineer and developer AFTER my "official" flying career was over. What did you do after your flying career was over? Did you work in Silicone Valley where I worked? Did you work with fortune 50 and global 200 companies on matters involving "computers?" And, when was the last time you saw or witnessed an Oracle Data Warehouse, SAP R3, or a full blown ERP solution installed on a Boeing 777? Do you even remotely understand the technology differential between an FMS Navigation database and a Sybase DW infrastructure? I do.
What the heck does "plugged into each other" mean? You don't have the slightest clue what you are talking about here do you? What do you think the word "integration" means? You do not piecemeal a Boeing 777 together. Commercial Airlines order these aircraft under specific technical outlines that match their business model. That includes the routes they fly, the countries in which they operate, the regulatory environment within which they must comply, etc. Airlines don't order blank commercial airframes.
The AP is linked to the FMS from the factory. What you tell the FMS to do, is carried out the AP when it is engaged. SATCOM ACARS can be linked through its MUs directly to the FMS and that has been the case since the 1980s. The earlier versions enabled flight plan data to be transmitted from the ground to the ACARS MUs (Management Units), then to the FMS in real-time. I am not saying that Boeing designs the FMS to be driven remotely. I am saying that such system integration can be accomplished, if you know what you are doing. The pathway between the SATCOM ACARS LRUs and the Avionics LRUs (including the FMS or FDAMS) is there and available for such integration - if one is so motivated to make it happen.
What you don't seem to understand, is the fact that people who do crap like this are not stupid and they are not mere "Windows" operating system admins sitting at some desk eating hotpockets and burping all day long. The LRUs would have to be configured for such an operation and I would estimate that ACARS MUs would need some tweaking as well for override compliance. Once that is done, the rest is sending the signals through the SATCOM network to the target ACARS MUs.
You still don't get it do you. Who says that this has to be done remotely? This is an operation you PLAN for long periods of time and you STAGE it appropriately for the right aircraft and the right time. Nobody is suggesting that you simply hack your way into the SATCOM network from the ground and send a "virus" that takes over the FMS - that's nuts.
No - I just declare what you said to be born of a woefully inadequate internet WikiLink understanding of how an ACARS Avionics Architecture actually works. Why not try actually reading something that you cannot find on WikiPedia:
ACARS Avionics Architecture - SAS
People in this thread have repeated what they heard in the Media and that is the source of their confusion, whether they know they are confused or not. The most dangerous thing is someone having no knowledge of what they are saying, yet functioning as an expert about what they say. When you post something as ill informed as not knowing that ACARS can be integrated with the aircraft FMS, that is enough for me to recognize you as a WikiPedia Graduate of epic proportions.
You clearly have no direct experience in programming the MCDU, or any experience in Avionics LRU replacement, LRU programming, or how the SATCOM Network actually work.
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