Reply #70: The NTSB won't have information on airspace incursions

[PacerLJ35]

Since it primarily keeps records regarding aircraft mishaps. Airspace violations are handled by the FAA. In this case, neither the FAA nor the NTSB would have any jurisdiction.

I've been flying for 15 years, however. The comment about GPS not being foolproof is spot-on. Many aircraft don't navigate with GPS at all, and some use INS with GPS corrections (like the C-130, which both the Dutch and the US fly out of Curacao). Despite the general conception among the public that military aircraft are the absolute most advanced, that's not always true. Most of the advances are weapon systems and other technologies used in the aircraft employment, not in the navigation systems.

I've flown the C-130E, C-130H and C-130J (the Dutch operate the C-130H as well). The E and H models still have a human navigator, and the aircraft has a dual INS system that's updated with a GPS receiver (the whole unit is called SCNS, or Self-Contained Navigation System). But SCNS is only as good as the human navigator and I've had occasions of the Nav turning me in the wrong direction or getting lost altogether.

The C-130J has a more advanced INS/GPS system called an EGI, but it's still not as accurate as a stand-alone GPS unit certified for GPS navigation. Those systems have an RNP of 3 (Required Navigation Performance), while the "advanced" C-130J is certified for RNP-10. I'm quite sure the Dutch C-130Hs aren't any better.

Of curious note, the Venezuelan press release did not state what kind of aircraft it was...the Dutch operate combat aircraft like the F-16, but it's highly unlikely F-16s would be located in Curacao since they have limited range in the first place and they are all primarily stationed out of the Netherlands. The Dutch also operate the C-130H as stated before, plus the KDC-10 tanker, and numerous other support aircraft.

Chances are, if it was something like a C-130, it wouldn't have nearly the sensationalism being a non-combat military aircraft, versus implying that it was a fighter or something. My unit used to deploy assets to Curacao...there were no combat coded aircraft there. They were all transports, patrol aircraft or there with the USAF crews (like my friends) that were involved in the counter drug effort.