In the comments under one of our previous articles debunking the “Flat Earth theory,” some Flat Earthers claimed that if you check Flightradar24, you’ll see that planes never fly over Antarctica. According to flat-earthers, this is because Antarctica, which they believe is an icy wall, is guarded by conspirators, and flights to it and over it are prohibited.
Their opponents gave different versions of why they don’t fly over Antarctica. Some said that civil aviation planes could not fly at such low temperatures. Others noted that flights over Antarctica were banned after the DC-10 crash that crashed into Mount Erebus in 1977, and so on. What is the reason? Let’s figure it out together.
Let’s examine the arguments presented in the discussion:
How reliable is flightradar24 data?
Firstly, it’s important to note that Flightradar24 is not a reliable source showing all airplanes in the air. Flightradar24 displays only those airplanes equipped with an active ADS-B transponder, which is mainly found on commercial aircraft. Military and private planes may not have such a transponder and would not appear on the radar.
