Kinda Strange Question..

[stardust]

So leaving tomorrow! Just checked in to southwest and printed the passes. I know there is a flight that left for FLL about 20 mins ago so I went onto flightaware.com to check it out.

This question probably would be better off in the Ask The Pilot thread, but since I'm low on time (I leave for the airport at 5:30am tomorrow!!!:shocked:) I figured maybe someone here could help.

If you look at this flight data (http://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWA2158/history/20070812/1242Z/KPHL/KFLL/tracklog)
and it may change bc its very early in the flight at around 8:48 the plane was at 14,000 then a minute later went up to 40,000 and then two minutes later went back to 18,000 ft. What is the reasoning behind this? Can you feel the drop? I looked at other flights to be safe and it seems they all shoot up and then come back down a few minutes later. Just looking for an explanation

[kari]

Hi,

Don't pay too much attention to the exact tracking statistics, sometimes they mess up, especially in the early/late stages of flight. That's why you get reports of weird altitude changes ... the plane doesn't actually do that, it's just a tracking glitch.

[Passenger Mark]

Hi,

Don't pay too much attention to the exact tracking statistics, sometimes they mess up, especially in the early/late stages of flight. That's why you get reports of weird altitude changes ... the plane doesn't actually do that, it's just a tracking glitch.

Kari hit on it perfectly!

For security reasons the tracking software is not right on target. Flightaware, which gives statistical data on flights also gets it wrong in altitude. I have learned to look at the average to get a good idea. The plane does not jump from 1,000 feet to 13,000 feet in seconds. I'm not even sure if the shuttle can do that! :D