Method and apparatus for correlating flight identification data with secondary surveillance radar data

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention includes hardware, software, and a methodology for correlating flight identification data with aircraft registration numbers.
In a first embodiment featuring a 1090 MHz receiver, Mode S decoder, ACARS receiver, and ACARS decoder, aircraft registration numbers and other Mode S data are correlated with the current flight identification of an aircraft as well as other data provided from ACARS messages.
The present invention provides for linking (correlation) of flight identification data from ACARS messages with the data from Mode S transponder transmissions, which are more frequent and provide for real time position and altitude determination.
The effect of which is to provide the same data as an air traffic controller would see on his or her screen without the need for active interrogation or connection to any Air Traffic Control equipment.