What plane is flying over my house?
You heard it, you looked up, now find out exactly what it is. In about ten seconds AeroScope can tell you the aircraft type, operator, altitude, where it came from and where it’s heading, and whether it’s anything out of the ordinary. Here’s how, and how to read what you see.
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.
Four steps to identify it
Set your spot
Allow location or drop a pin on your home so the sky is centerd on you.
→Find the closest
Aircraft are ranked by distance and bearing from your point, the one overhead is usually right at the top.
→Read it
Type, operator, altitude, speed, squawk, route and an attention score, the full identity of the aircraft.
→Reading the aircraft panel
| Field | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Type & operator | The airframe (e.g. A320, B738, helicopter) and the airline or owner |
| Callsign | The flight’s radio identity, often the airline + flight number |
| Altitude | How high it is; very low usually means it’s on approach or departure |
| Speed & heading | How fast and which way, and where it’s going next |
| Squawk | A 4-digit code; 7500/7600/7700 are emergencies (see squawk codes) |
| Attention score | A 0–100 ranking of how unusual it is, see threat scoring |
Why planes keep flying over your house
Approach & departure
If you live under an arrival or departure corridor for a nearby airport, you’ll see a steady stream of low, slow aircraft on a consistent track.
Holding & routing
Air traffic control sometimes stacks aircraft in holding patterns or routes them along fixed airways that happen to pass over you.
Overflights
High-altitude traffic (35,000 ft+) is simply passing between distant airports, cruising over, not landing near you.
Is it military, a drone, or an emergency?
- Military or state aircraft, flagged from ICAO hex ranges and callsigns. See military aircraft tracking.
- A drone or UAV, low-and-slow candidates and Remote-ID broadcasts are tagged. See drone detection.
- An emergency, a 7500/7600/7700 squawk overhead is surfaced immediately. See squawk codes.
- Something spoofed, if a track contradicts physics or its own integrity fields, it’s flagged. See detect ADS-B spoofing.