# Aircraft Position

The Aircraft Position object specifies the physical location of an aircraft that is seen by our network. The same object is used independently of the source of the data, making it possible to receive information from multiple sources, like ground- and satellite-based ADS-B, ADS-C, Eurocontrol and FAA, all in one consistent format.

The Aircraft Position object is broken down into a part with information about the Aircraft, and a child object with the Position information.

```
{
  "icao24": "4D212D",
  "registration": "9H-VJT",
  "blocked": false,
  "position": {
    "baroAltitude": 0,
    "groundSpeed": 0,
    "course": null,
    "verticalRate": null,
    "coordinates": {
      "latitude": 42.69123,
      "longitude": 23.400879
    },
    "observed": "2021-05-21T12:52:09.36603",
    "onGround": true,
    "callsign": "VJT817T",
    "squawk": "1054",
    "technology": "ADSB"
  }
}
```

| Property       | Type           | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
| -------------- | -------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `icao24`       | String         | The ICAO 24bit address of the transponder in hexadecimal format.                                                                                                                                                                                    |
| `registration` | String, `null` | <p>The aircraft registration marks, as commonly displayed in the country of registration. For example <code>G-AVIO</code>, or <code>N372AW</code> . </p><p></p><p>A value of <code>null</code> indicates that the information is not available.</p> |
| `blocked`      | Boolean        | Indicates if the aircraft is included in the [FAA LADD](https://ladd.faa.gov/) blocking list. This is only for information, as aviowiki is not required to hide these aircraft from public view.                                                    |

### The Position object

The Position object contains information on an individual position tracked by our network.

| Property       | Type           | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
| -------------- | -------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `baroAltitude` | Number, `null` | <p>The barometric altitude as reported by the aircraft's transponder, in metres.</p><p></p><p><code>null</code> indicates that this information is not available, or that the aircraft is on the ground, when <code>onGround</code> is <code>true</code>.</p>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
| `verticalRate` | Number, `null` | <p>The rate of climb/descent as reported by the aircraft's transponder, in metres per second. This can  be negative, which indicates a </p><p></p><p><code>null</code> indicates that this information is not available.</p>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
| `groundSpeed`  | Number, `null` | <p>The ground speed as reported by the aircraft's navigation system, in metres per second.</p><p></p><p><code>null</code> indicates that this information is not available.</p>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| `course`       | Number, `null` | <p>The True Course as reported by the aircraft's navigation system, in degrees (<code>0</code> to <code>359</code>).</p><p></p><p><code>null</code> indicates that this information is not available.</p><p></p><p>Be aware that this information is only reliable when the aircraft is moving.</p>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
| `coordinates`  | Object         | A [Coordinates](/data-models/coordinates.md) object that describes the geographical position of the aircraft.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
| `observed`     | String         | <p>The UTC time at which this position was received by us. This is usually just a few milliseconds after the aircraft transmits the information. </p><p>Time is formatted in ISO format.</p>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
| `onGround`     | Boolean        | <p>Indicates if the transponder is transmitting that the aircraft is on the ground. This parameter works differently for different types of aircraft avionics. In some aircraft it is commanded by a pressure switch on the main landing gear, in others it is derived by the avionics' software. Not all transponders offer this information.</p><p></p><p><code>null</code> indicates that this information is not available, because it either was not provided by the aircraft or it was not possible to reliably derive.</p>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
| `technology`   | String         | <p>The source of the position report. Possible values are:</p><ul><li><code>ADSB</code>: for positions by a Mode S or ADS-B transponder, using a 24-bit ICAO address, and received by a ground receiver.</li><li><code>ADSB\_SAT</code>: for positions by an ADS-B transponder, using a 24-bit ICAO address, and received by satellite.</li><li><code>ADSC</code>: for a position received monitoring the ADS-C satellite downlink</li><li><code>MLAT</code>:  for a Multilateration position, calculated by arrival time differences using multiple receivers, outliers and varying accuracy is expected</li><li><code>MODE\_S</code>: for ModeS data from the plane's transponder (no position transmitted)</li><li><code>ADSB\_NT</code>: for positions from an ADS-B equipped “non-transponder” emitter e.g. a ground vehicle, using a 24-bit ICAO address, and received by a  ground receiver.</li><li><code>ADSB\_REBROADCAST</code>: for rebroadcast of ADS-B messages originally sent via another data link e.g. UAT, using a 24-bit ICAO address</li><li><code>TISB</code>: for traffic information about a non-ADS-B target identified by a 24-bit ICAO address, e.g. a Mode S target tracked by secondary radar</li><li><code>ADSB\_OTHER</code>: for positions from an ADS-B transponder using a non-ICAO address, e.g. anonymized addresses issued by the FAA.</li><li><code>ADSR\_OTHER</code>: for rebroadcast of ADS-B messages originally sent via another data link e.g. UAT, using a non-ICAO address</li><li><code>TISB\_OTHER</code>: for traffic information about a non-ADS-B target using a non-ICAO address</li><li><code>TISB\_TRACKFILE</code>: for traffic information about a non-ADS-B target using a track/file identifier, typically from primary or Mode A/C radar</li><li><code>OTHER</code>: miscellaneous data received via Basestation receivers or in SBS format. Quality and source is generally unknown.</li></ul> |


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.aviowiki.com/data-models/aircraft-position.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.
