The FlyGarmin app for pilots using Garmin GPS-based navigation instruments and equipment experienced an outage as of July 23, 2020 at night, Eastern Daylight Savings Time in the United States. Some sections of the website appear to have been restored after what some media outlets call a “ransomware attack”.
A ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts a database or system and threatens to publish the victim’s data or permanently block access to it unless a ransom is paid.
Garmin website outages were first made visible when the GarminConnect.com fitness tracking website started showing a screen to subscribers saying the site was down for maintenance. Since then, the site has displayed a page that says, “We are currently experiencing an outage affecting Garmin.com and Garmin Connect. This outage also affects our call centers, and we are currently unable to receive any calls, emails, or online chat. We are working to resolve this issue as quickly as possible and apologize for this inconvenience. “The outage affects Garmin Pilot as well.
According to a report that appeared in ZDNet on July 23, “Pilots were unable to download a version of the Garmin aviation database into their Garmin aircraft navigation systems. Pilots must run an updated version of this database on their navigation devices as required by the FAA. In addition, the Garmin Pilot app, which they use to schedule and plan flights, also stopped working today, causing additional headaches. ”
Generally speaking, Garmin navigation watches have maps loaded on them and receive positional data as long as they have a three-satellite solution with the GPS constellation. The clock still works. For example, this author just used a Tacitx Bravo and a bike computer just now on a 19-mile bike ride. The computer displays my accurate travel data, I simply cannot upload it to Garmin Connect at this time.
Garmin’s military aviation and navigation watches – from on-board computers to wrist computers sold worldwide – are used by military pilots in the US, Russia, and many other countries, and even by U surveillance pilots. -2 from USA on March 13, 2020 GPSWorld.com reported that “the US Air Force is expected to receive more than 100 D2 Charlie aviator watches for the group of specialized pilots flying the Lockheed U-2 aircraft.”
In February 2018, a US Navy flight crew in the Northeast US was able to navigate and land their EA-18G Growler using a Garmin wrist computer – the plane suffered a catastrophic failure of its environmental control system at 25,000 feet. She was on her way from the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station to the China Lake Naval Weapons Station when the fault occurred. Within minutes, the temperature in the cabin dropped to below zero degrees Fahrenheit. Condensation formed, then froze in a thick layer inside the cabin, obscuring the view of the two-person crew outside the plane. Ice buildup quickly covered vital flight control instruments, making instrument flight almost impossible as the crew began to experience the first symptoms of hypothermia. But in the end, the pilot and electronic warfare officer used a Garmin watch to track their heading and altitude as air traffic controllers began relaying instructions to the crew.
Starting in 2017, the Navy began issuing Garmin GPS smart watches to pilots of the F / A-18 Hornet, E / A-18G Growler, and T-45 Goshawk. The first round of watches issued was the Garmin Fenix 3, a watch originally intended for endurance athletes such as triathletes, off-road cyclists, adventure racers, and long distance runners. Since airmen began using Garmin’s “wrist computer” GPS-equipped smartwatches, the company has introduced several new aviation-specific watches called the Garmin D2 Bravo Pilot, D2 Charlie, D2 Delta PX, and the flagship Garmin MARQ series. , which includes the MARQ Commander and Aviator, models that actually “check Pulse Ox³” for awareness of how well your body’s oxygen levels are adjusting to thinner air at higher altitudes. “
