Dear Captain Lim,
Many thanks for your useful and informative site which I have been reading for many years. I am now flying again after a twenty year break due to fear of flying. Your site has helped me achieve this.
My question is that, during my RYA Yachtmaster course, I have to learn the art of navigation at sea using a compass. However, the normal method is the GPS. We have to learn this in case the GPS fails.
How likely do you think this is and how would a pilot cope if the GPS system went down?
Many thanks,
TonyB
Hi Tony,
Modern airliners are such expensive and sophisticated machines that a simple GPS (Global Positioning System) failure is nothing to shout about. Remember, airplanes have many redundant systems built in to ensure a very safe flight for everyone.
Most airplanes have at least 2 GPS on board. When one fails, the other takes over. When both fail, the navigation is further backed up by other lesser accurate navigation systems such as IRS (Inertial Reference System). When all fail (very, very unlikely!) the pilots fall back on basic navigation, just like you had to learn the art of navigation using your compass on your Yatchtmaster course!
In addition, pilots have many other navigation aids on board the plane to assist them - such as the DME (Distance Measuring Equipment), VOR, (Very-high-frequency Omni-directional Range), ADF (Automatic Directional Finding), airborne (and ground) radar, etc...
So, today, you would never hear of an airline pilot getting lost in the air just because a GPS has failed  ! (See more videos on the GPS below)
How GPS works for the pilot?
The Global Positioning System
GPS for the Airlines
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Flying on the Boeing 777 
How does a pilot cope with GPS failure?
By: Tony Bennett (Guest) on 11-01-2008