Earlier quoted context omitted.
Presumably they would unplug the dongle at the end of the flight while they retrieve their overhead luggage
Or just program them to not do anything until an hour into the next flight.
But then it gets found
A mysterious voice is haunting American Airlines’ in-flight announcements
101–110 of 301 posts
Re: A mysterious voice is haunting American Airlines’ in-flight announcements
#102You don't need physical access to interfere with an analog audio system. (Remember old cellphones?) Since they're saying it's an issue with the amplifier, I'm assuming someone found a weak spot that readily gets picked up by the system's input.
Is it really analog though?
The audio might be analog, but they still have to "key" the mic which would be a digital input at the very least, or something even more complex such as a phone-like system where handsets have actual keypads and internal numbers.
I wouldn't expect the amplifier to be active at all unless a "call" is in progress (otherwise you might hear a constant noise, plus energy saving/thermal concerns and all that), so even if there was interference around, it shouldn't be getting amplified to an audible level unless something is actually "keying" the mic.
Re: A mysterious voice is haunting American Airlines’ in-flight announcements
#103Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why not the alien soul crystals that enable flight trying to break free?
I'm glad you brought that up because (no joke) nobody can actually explain how aerodynamic lift works, much less how a plane can fly upside down: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/no-one-can-explai...
You mean the soul of the plane? The grand spirit of buoyancy?
Re: A mysterious voice is haunting American Airlines’ in-flight announcements
#104Earlier quoted context omitted.
I doubt courts would interpret "hacked into an airplane's communication system" as a silly prank, but I ANAL.
Plugging in a Bluetooth transmitter into a user-accessible port and using the system as intended is "hacking" now? Sure, passengers weren't intended to use that port, but from a system perspective the system is being used as intended with no interference or exploitation. I'm not sure this system can even be "hacked" short of disassembling parts of the plane and tapping into the communications wiring.
Do you really trust the government to have a nuanced definition of hacking?
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/10/missouri-gov-cal...
Yes, this is a state government and not federal. I’m sure you can find equally outlandish examples of federal cases.
Re: A mysterious voice is haunting American Airlines’ in-flight announcements
#105Earlier quoted context omitted.
What's the worst that can happen?
You mean besides creating panic in the passenger cabin...?
Since 9/11 and armored & locked cockpit doors, surely planes would be able to withstand pandemonium in the cabin and still land safely?
Also, in the video linked in the blog post there doesn't seem to be much panic visible at all. I bet most people are laughing their asses off once the initial confusion is over.
Re: A mysterious voice is haunting American Airlines’ in-flight announcements
#106It doesn’t sound particularly human and it seems like it would be a weird hobby to go on a bunch of flights and cause these strange sounds. Surely a prankster would get bored and move on to something like music or silly messages. (And if the airline believed passengers were doing it they might correlate flight records or something?) I think I’d probably believe that it’s just some elctromechanical issue. I doubt fixi…
We must be listening to different tapes. Sounds very much human, very much male, very much young
the tonal inflections are very human, and in the recording it felt the voice changed a bit after the flight attendant made an announcement, so it's probably live (not necessarily making the sound, but using a soundboard).
Re: A mysterious voice is haunting American Airlines’ in-flight announcements
#107Why aren’t there logfiles in the system of every access and state change?
Re: A mysterious voice is haunting American Airlines’ in-flight announcements
#108For those interested in the various aircraft systems for PA (public address) and aircraft status system for aircrew, I found this interesting training doc PDF online [1] for the A320/321. I have been looking at section "03-010 CABIN INTERCOMMUNICATION DATA SYSTEM" It does not mention the "medical intercom jacks" in overhead bins that are mentioned at the end of the article [1]: https://caisatech.net/uploads/XXI_3_AIR…
My best guess its an unfunny "Easter Egg" that triggers after something like 5,000 hours of uptime. I think I remember some bug in Boeing or some other system that they need to actually be rebooted every 100 days.
Re: A mysterious voice is haunting American Airlines’ in-flight announcements
#109Earlier quoted context omitted.
I doubt courts would interpret "hacked into an airplane's communication system" as a silly prank, but I ANAL.
Plugging in a Bluetooth transmitter into a user-accessible port and using the system as intended is "hacking" now? Sure, passengers weren't intended to use that port, but from a system perspective the system is being used as intended with no interference or exploitation. I'm not sure this system can even be "hacked" short of disassembling parts of the plane and tapping into the communications wiring.
Right. My comment didn’t assume a specific interface method (user accessible port / medical jack vs. something else) but rather a method to play the audio without having to be on the plane (which would certainly be my preference were I the prankster.) If it was actually done using a user accessible port intended for access to the PA, I would agree with you, it wouldn’t fall under CFAA/hacking type laws. Still could be problematic legally though.
Microcontrollers are small enough now that there could be lots of interesting ways to interface.
EDIT: Also, based on the OP, the PA gets power cycled repeatedly on at least one flight where this is happening. That’s much more intrusive.
Or again… horny ghost
Re: A mysterious voice is haunting American Airlines’ in-flight announcements
#110This could be an internal thing done as to arouse curiosity and attract passengers over the Halloween and the following holiday season.
Strong Ken M vibes here.
Pastor said that with the sharp rise in liberols taking the flu shot this year there is bound to be a rise in spooks and frights.