Strangers in the night

[sbutk]

Hi again...

I've got another plane I'm trying to identify. New twist, though: all I have to go on is the sound. I heard this plane out my window on the night of 7/12/12 [I probably should've posted this sooner; not sure how long data is available for] ...But anyway, it was 10:34 pm (and I'm probably 10-15 minutes flight time from KEWR). I've heard enough 747s fly over to feel fairly certain that's what it was (or, at least, some other heavy wide-body). Is there a site with Arrival data that goes back that far, so I can search around 10:50 pm, or so, and see what big jets might've landed at Newark? Thanks! I'm kindof enjoying this detective work. :-P

-Steve

[moose135]

FlightAware has that data. Here's a list of arrivals around that time Thursday night - may have been a Virgin 744 or A346.

http://flightaware.com/live/airport/KEWR/arrivals?;offset=1640;order=actualarrivaltime;sort =DESC



Ident

Type

Origin

Departed

Arrival





WIG7413

C208

Albany Intl (KALB)

Thu 10:08PM EDT
Thu 11:07PM EDT


CJC4933

DH8D

Port Columbus Intl (KCMH)

Thu 09:42PM EDT
Thu 11:05PM EDT


AWE683

A319

Phoenix Sky Harbor Intl (KPHX)

Thu 06:35PM EDT
Thu 11:01PM EDT


AAL624

MD80

Dallas/Fort Worth Intl (KDFW)

Thu 08:09PM EDT
Thu 10:58PM EDT


DAL1036

MD88

Minneapolis/St Paul Intl (KMSP)

Thu 08:33PM EDT
Thu 10:54PM EDT


ACA772

E190

Toronto Pearson Int'l (CYYZ)

Thu 09:52PM EDT
Thu 10:52PM EDT


FDX1908

B722

Syracuse Hancock Intl (KSYR)

Thu 10:17PM EDT
Thu 10:51PM EDT


UAL1845

B738

Toronto Pearson Int'l (CYYZ)

Thu 09:50PM EDT
Thu 10:51PM EDT


VIR17

A346

London Heathrow (EGLL / LHR)

Thu 03:45PM EDT
Thu 10:50PM EDT


CJC4957

DH8D

Pittsburgh Intl (KPIT)

Thu 09:41PM EDT
Thu 10:49PM EDT


ASQ4411

E45X

Memphis Intl (KMEM)

Thu 08:35PM EDT
Thu 10:48PM EDT


ASQ4426

E45X

Raleigh-Durham Intl (KRDU)

Thu 09:31PM EDT
Thu 10:45PM EDT


VIR1

B744

London Heathrow (EGLL / LHR)

Thu 03:59PM EDT
Thu 10:41PM EDT

[sbutk]

Based on that data, I'd say that's a fairly good conclusion.

...But when I click on your link, I notice the data says it's for "Friday". So are you just going on the assumption that Thursday's timetable would have been [roughly] the same, being another weekday?

For that matter, how do you go about changing the day? I'd come across that page already, to be honest, but could never figure that out.

Thanks for your help, Moose!

[yankees368]

Your absolute best bet is to go to www4.passur.com/ewr.html and plug in the date and time. You should be able to see exactly what was over you, as long as it was commercial and not military.

On approach at that time was:
Delta 504 A319 on final
United 1576 737-800 over Clifton at 3500 feet
Virgin 1 747-400 over Pompton Lake at 4700 feet
ASQ4411 ERJ145 over Mountain Lakes

hope that helps

[moose135]

Steve, the info I posted was from Thursday night, but looking at the link, it was x number of pages from the "current" page, so today that would only take you back to Friday. On the FlightAware page for EWR listing arrivals and departures, I used the "next" button until I got to Thursday night's flight info. Well, actually I cheated a little, after selecting "more" from the arrivals list, I changed the offset number in the URL (in this one, the offset=1640) until I got to the time frame I was looking for.

[sbutk]

Moose, thanks for divulging that little tip/trick.

Yankees, thanks for that really cool site. I'd say based on the short list you've compiled, the perp is almost certainly that Virgin 747.

(Still, I'm a little surprised the plane was allegedly at 4500 feet at the time in question. I wasn't able to see a thing out the window at that hour, but I'd have sworn it was getting ready to land on this house, it was so loud. And here in NJ, I'm not to far removed from sea level, so... I dunno.)

...Cool pic of the osprey, BTW. (Raptors are another of my passions, notably for photographing.)

[yankees368]

Moose, thanks for divulging that little tip/trick.

Yankees, thanks for that really cool site. I'd say based on the short list you've compiled, the perp is almost certainly that Virgin 747.

(Still, I'm a little surprised the plane was allegedly at 4500 feet at the time in question. I wasn't able to see a thing out the window at that hour, but I'd have sworn it was getting ready to land on this house, it was so loud. And here in NJ, I'm not to far removed from sea level, so... I dunno.)

...Cool pic of the osprey, BTW. (Raptors are another of my passions, notably for photographing.)

Is the location I listed close to you?
Love that Osprey pic. I got that right at home, and probably will be the best/luckiest shot I ever get!

[sbutk]

Is the location I listed close to you?
Love that Osprey pic. I got that right at home, and probably will be the best/luckiest shot I ever get!



Pompton Lakes is the next town over from me, yes.

OK, silly question: How does one go about finding out his current elevation? I thought to turn on my Garmin, but for some reason it's giving me different readings: anywhere between 500 - 600 feet. I haven't been able to find any sites that offer topographical maps of NJ. Do you know of any?

Slightly more serious question: On that plane-tracking site, it's centered by default on KEWR. Is it possible to re-center it on my home town? (Or would I need to build an airport here before that happens? Heh.)

And, lastly: If you don't mind, I'm going to send you a Facebook request. I've enjoyed perusing your photos immensely.

:-P

[yankees368]

Hmm, I'm not totally sure on the elevation question.
As for centering the map, nope. It can only be centered on airports, such as EWR or JFK. Try using flightaware as an alternative.
Also, of course I do t mind if you friend me, thats why I posted the link!
Happy you enjoy my photos!

[sbutk]

Hmm, I'm not totally sure on the elevation question.
As for centering the map, nope. It can only be centered on airports, such as EWR or JFK. Try using flightaware as an alternative.
Also, of course I do t mind if you friend me, thats why I posted the link!
Happy you enjoy my photos!


Oh, I realize. I just wanted to give you a heads-up so you wouldn't see an unfamiliar name and conclude I was just a random stranger.

And thanks, I'll keep looking for a topo map. If all else fails, I might take a trip to our ol brick-and-mortar library.

[yankees368]

Try this: http://www.daftlogic.com/sandbox-google-maps-find-altitude.htm