Would Give Pilots, Cabin Crews Access To Government Personnel In An Emergency

The developer of an inflight messaging service says it plans to deploy a new emergency-911 service that will help airline pilots and staff to alert up to 100 government personnel simultaneously in the event of an inflight crisis.

InFlight Labs, LLC, will introduce a new proprietary product called “Inflight 911 Services,” which is scheduled to be released later this year. Inflight 911 Services web interface leverages the aircraft's Wi-Fi Internet to establish a top priority secure and dedicated connection between aircraft personnel and an Inflight 911 Services administrative team.

The service would allow an airline pilot or staff member to quickly access a secure network, giving them immediate 2-way communication between the aircraft and the Inflight 911 Services administrative team. The communications are also simultaneously transmitted to the mobile and/or computer devices of 100 “+” government personnel, such as the FAA, Homeland Security, FEMA, FBI, CIA, 911 and related agencies. This patent pending service is not limited to the U.S. market and can benefit Wi-Fi-enabled commercial and business aircraft located anywhere in the world. This service operates on both the ground and while in-flight; by using the aircraft’s existing Wi-Fi Internet service, provided by GoGo Inflight, Row 44, OnAir, Panasonic Avionics and others.

The dynamic web interface stores more than 18 points of critical information in an encrypted format about the flight details, air crew and current crisis situation. This critical profile information is embedded in each real-time message sent and received. All Inflight 911 Services activity is time-stamped with a downloadable message history, ensuring vital accountability. “Inflight 911 Services is the perfect “Plan B” for airline staff when ground or controller tower personnel cannot be reached. This innovative service would have been helpful in recent incidents of unreachable air traffic controllers at Tahoe International Airport, at Boeing Field/King County International Airport, Knoxville Airport, and Reagan International Airport in March and April of 2011”.

“Inflight 911 Services will benefit everyone from airline staff to passengers and government officials by bringing numerous key resources together within minutes of an in-air emergency,” said company spokeswoman Tiffany Van Alst. “It is imperative for the airlines to have alternate source of “air-to-ground” communication for aircraft in both commercial and business aviation markets. Accessing the existing in-flight Wi-Fi internet service allows InFlight Labs’ solutions to ‘go live’ within days or weeks, versus possible years through a hardware solution deployment. We will be seeking strategic partners to help cultivate and develop this ‘win-win’ solution which adds an additional layer of safety and security in today’s aviation market”

FMI: www.InFlight911Services.com