The sudden disappearance of airplanes from radar is a phenomenon that sparks widespread anxiety and speculation. While technology today offers robust aircraft tracking, it is not infallible. On July 24, 2025, a Russian An‑24 passenger aircraft carrying nearly 50 people disappeared from radar screens while approaching the remote city of Tynda in the Amur region. Wreckage was later discovered in dense forest, highlighting aviation’s longstanding challenge aircraft vanishing from radar is still relevant today as reported by ABC News.Aviation experts say such incidents underscore the limitations of radar and satellite tracking systems, and the importance of understanding how planes can still vanish.
How radar works in aviation and why it fails sometimes
Commercial aviation relies on two primary systems: primary surveillance radar (PSR) and secondary surveillance radar (SSR).
- PSR detects any object by bouncing radio waves off it, but only shows position, not identity or altitude.
- SSR relies on the aircraft’s transponder, which actively returns data such as flight number, altitude, and speed.
“If a transponder fails or is deliberately turned off, secondary radar essentially stops seeing the aircraft,” explains Prof. Igor Petrov, an aviation systems expert at Moscow’s Civil Aviation Institute. “Primary radar might still detect the plane as a blip, but with limited accuracy especially in remote regions or at low altitude.”
Why airplanes disappear from radar
According to flightradar24 reports, below can be the most possible reason of airplanes disappearing from radar:
Source: iStock
Transponder failure or manual shut-off
Air traffic controllers primarily use secondary surveillance radar (SSR), which depends on an aircraft’s transponder to send information like altitude, flight number, and speed.
- Failure: Electrical problems or system malfunctions can cause the transponder to stop transmitting.
- Intentional shut-off: In rare cases, pilots may disable transponders intentionally (e.g., during emergencies, security incidents, or in extremely rare deliberate acts like the MH370 case). When this happens, air traffic controllers see only a “blip” on primary radar, with no identifying details, making tracking more difficult.
Radar coverage gaps
Radar relies on line-of-sight transmission. The curvature of the Earth and geographical barriers limit how far radar can see.
- Oceanic regions: Most over-ocean flights move beyond ground radar coverage within a few hundred miles of shorelines.
- Mountainous and remote areas: High terrain or isolated airspace can block radar signals or leave coverage voids. Although satellite-based ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast) is improving coverage, blind spots still exist globally.
Severe weather and terrain interference
Radar signals can be disrupted by environmental conditions:
- Thunderstorms and heavy rain: Precipitation can scatter or weaken radar signals, causing intermittent or lost contact.
- Mountain ranges: Large landforms can physically block radar beams, creating “shadows” where aircraft temporarily vanish. These interruptions are usually short-lived but can complicate monitoring during critical flight phases like takeoff, landing, or navigation near rough terrain.
Technical glitches in radar systems
Like any technology, radar infrastructure is susceptible to failures:
- Ground system outages: Electrical or software issues at air traffic control centers can temporarily disable tracking.
- Signal interference: Radio frequency conflicts or jamming can distort radar signals.
These are rare but not impossible, and most aviation authorities have backup systems and protocols to minimize risk.
MH370’s 2014 disappearance still unsolved as 2025 search pauses
The world is still haunted by the 2014 disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which went off civilian radar about 38 minutes after takeoff. Despite one of the largest search operations in history, its main wreckage remains unfound. In February 2025, the deep-sea exploration firm Ocean Infinity launched a new search using advanced autonomous drones, but the effort was paused due to seasonal weather as reported by New York Post.“These incidents show that losing a plane on radar is not necessarily rare—it’s just usually resolved quickly,” said John Cox, a former airline captain and CEO of Safety Operating Systems, in an interview with ABC News. “But when you combine transponder loss, remote airspace, and poor weather, it becomes a nightmare for search and rescue.”Also Read | 9 offbeat monsoon destinations in India you’ve probably never heard of
