World’s most-tracked plane is US Jet that may be carrying Pelosi
A visit to Taiwan by Pelosi, who is second in the line of succession to the US presidency and a long-time critic of China, would come amid worsening ties between Washington and Beijing
The most-tracked aircraft in the world right now is a US Air Force jet that took off from Kuala Lumpur, as internet users seek to track US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on a trip to Taiwan.
Almost 300,000 users are following every move of "SPAR19," a US Air Force-operated Boeing C-40C, according to FlightRadar24. Taiwan's Liberty Times newspaper had earlier reported that Pelosi is expected to arrive at 10:20 p.m. local time via private plane at Songshan airport in Taipei, which also hosts a military base, Bloomberg reported.
There is no official confirmation that Pelosi is on the plane. Her potential trip to Taiwan has infuriated Beijing, which views the island as its territory and has warned of consequences if the trip goes ahead.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
A normal flight from Kualar Lumpur to Taiwan's capital of Taipei would cross the South China Sea, with a typical flight time of under five hours.
lightRadar24, a popular aircraft-tracking website, normally has several thousand users following aircraft of interest -- including emergency incidents or inaugural flights.
The SPAR19 flight took off from Kuala Lumpur's Subang Airport at approximately 3.40 p.m., but headed east toward Borneo island instead of northeast to Taiwan.
The top 10 most-tracked flights in the world were going to Taiwan, according to FlightRadar24 data. The second most-tracked plane on Tuesday after SPAR19 was a China Airlines flight from Jakarta to Taipei, with almost 20,000 followers.
A representative for the flight tracking company couldn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
A visit to Taiwan by Pelosi, who is second in the line of succession to the US presidency and a long-time critic of China, would come amid worsening ties between Washington and Beijing. She has not confirmed if she would visit the self-governed island which Beijing claims as its own.
Since last week, China's People's Liberation Army has conducted various exercises, including live fire drills, in the South China Sea, Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea, in a show of Chinese military might.
