What helicopter is flying over my house?
A helicopter hovering or circling overhead is one of the most-asked "what is that?" questions, and usually has an ordinary answer. Many helicopters broadcast ADS-B just like aeroplanes, so AeroScope can often tell you what it is and what it’s doing. Here’s how, and the honest exceptions.
What is over you at this moment
This asks your browser for your location, queries the live feed, and lists the aircraft within 30 NM. Your position is used for the query and is not stored.
Nothing listed does not mean empty sky. AeroScope only sees aircraft broadcasting ADS-B within range of a volunteer receiver. See limitations.
What it most likely is
👮 Police / law enforcement
Circling a wide area, often at night, supporting an incident on the ground. Some forces limit what they broadcast.
📺 News / media
Orbiting a traffic incident, event or breaking story to get a stable camera shot.
🚑 Air ambulance / HEMS
Transiting fast and low, or landing at a scene or hospital. Time-critical, so direct routing.
🚁 Military
Transit or training. Flagged from ICAO hex and callsign, see military over my house.
🗺️ Survey / utility
Slow, methodical grid or line-following for power lines, pipelines, mapping or aerial photography.
🧑✈️ Private / charter
Point-to-point transport or sightseeing, often broadcasting full identity.
How to check on AeroScope
- Open the live map, set your location, and look for the low, slow target near you.
- Read its type and operator, helicopter types (e.g. H125, EC135, AW139) and owners are often resolvable.
- Check the pattern: a tight orbit or hover over one spot is classified as loiter/orbit by pattern-of-life.
- If it has no callsign and is very low and slow, it may be flagged a drone candidate instead.
The usual operators
| Operator | What you will notice |
|---|---|
| Air ambulance / HEMS | Arrives fast, lands somewhere unusual such as a field or road, then departs. Often the loudest and lowest helicopter you will hear. |
| Police | Orbits an area at moderate altitude, sometimes for a long period, frequently at night. |
| News and media | Orbits a traffic incident or event, usually in daylight and usually briefly. |
| Powerline and pipeline patrol | Flies slowly along a linear route rather than circling. |
| Training | Repetitive circuits and hover practice near a heliport or airfield. |
| Offshore and utility transport | Straight point-to-point transits, common near coastlines. |
The honest exceptions
Helicopter visibility on ADS-B is genuinely patchier than fixed-wing aviation, and it is worth knowing why before concluding something is being hidden.
- Equipage varies. Mandates differ by country and by the airspace being used. A helicopter operating locally at low level may not be required to carry ADS-B Out at all.
- Low level breaks line of sight. Reception is line of sight, so a helicopter at a few hundred feet is easily hidden by terrain and buildings even where coverage is otherwise good.
- Some operators mask identity. Certain law-enforcement and military helicopters deliberately do not broadcast or do not resolve to an operator.
So a helicopter you can clearly hear may legitimately not appear. That is a limitation of ADS-B, not evidence of anything. See limitations.