Watch Duty's Flight Tracker lets you follow firefighting aircraft involved in wildfire response, including fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft.
Flight Tracking is a Watch Duty member feature. For more information about a Watch Duty membership, see What’s Free in Watch Duty, and What Does a Membership Add?
Which aircraft appear in Watch Duty?
The Flight Tracker is designed to show firefighting aircraft, rather than every aircraft in the sky.
This includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft involved in wildfire response. Commercial aircraft, news helicopters, and other unrelated aircraft are filtered out to keep the map focused on firefighting activity.
Watch Duty maintains an aircraft database with information such as aircraft types, names, and callsigns.
Where does flight tracking data come from?
Live aircraft location data comes from ADS-B Exchange.
Watch Duty combines this live tracking information with our own aircraft database to identify and display relevant firefighting aircraft in the app.
Our aircraft database is maintained by the Watch Duty team and updated as new information becomes available. Pilots, crews, agencies, and Watch Duty users also help us identify outdated or incorrect aircraft information.
Why is an aircraft missing or disappearing from the map?
There are several reasons an aircraft may not appear consistently in Watch Duty.
ADS-B coverage gaps
Aircraft tracking depends on signals received by ADS-B ground stations.
Coverage can be limited in remote areas, mountainous terrain, or when an aircraft is flying at a low altitude. An aircraft may therefore temporarily disappear from the map and reappear when its signal can be received again.
Different tracking services have different coverage
An aircraft you see on another flight-tracking service may not always appear in Watch Duty.
Watch Duty uses ADS-B Exchange for live aircraft tracking, and its receiver coverage may differ from other tracking services.
The aircraft may not be in our database yet
Watch Duty maintains its own database to determine which aircraft should appear as firefighting aircraft.
If an agency or firefighting aircraft isn't appearing, it may not yet be included in our database.
How do I report a missing aircraft or incorrect information?
If a firefighting aircraft is missing from Watch Duty, send us as much information as you can, including:
- Aircraft type — fixed-wing or rotary-wing
- Mission or role — such as air tanker or air attack
- Tail number, if known
You can also contact us if you notice an incorrect callsign or aircraft identifier.
Our team reviews corrections and updates the aircraft database as new information becomes available.
How do I turn on Flight Tracking?
Flight Tracking is available with a Watch Duty membership.
To turn it on:
- Make sure you're logged into your Watch Duty account.
- Open Layers.
- Under General, select Flight Tracker.
You can return to the Layers menu to turn Flight Tracker off.
Why are there gaps in ADS-B coverage?
ADS-B tracking relies on a network of ground-based receivers. Areas with fewer receivers can have less reliable aircraft coverage, particularly when terrain blocks signals or aircraft are flying low.
Individuals can help improve ADS-B coverage by hosting compatible ADS-B receiving equipment.