The below could in part be a question about the flightradar application itself in that it assumes that the speed and altitude pairs being displayed are very accurate. Otherwise, this is primarily about the technique of descent as an aircraft approaches its final destination which I understand to be basically the reduction of speed.
So I actually jotted down the speed/altitude combinations of an Alitalia flight that landed a few minutes ago in Boston, coming from Rome. When I picked it up, it was at 7 330 meters from touchdown and 582 km/hr. It then progressively lost altitude, all the way to around 4 000 meters, while maintaining the same speed (give or take 2 km/hr). How is that possible? Later, it went from 2 004/428 to 1 707/469 - ie, it lost 300 meters, while the speed actually increased.
I'm quite certain there is something I'm not understanding well...
So I actually jotted down the speed/altitude combinations of an Alitalia flight that landed a few minutes ago in Boston, coming from Rome. When I picked it up, it was at 7 330 meters from touchdown and 582 km/hr. It then progressively lost altitude, all the way to around 4 000 meters, while maintaining the same speed (give or take 2 km/hr). How is that possible? Later, it went from 2 004/428 to 1 707/469 - ie, it lost 300 meters, while the speed actually increased.
I'm quite certain there is something I'm not understanding well...