How is this possible?

FlightAware ADS-B Flight Tracking
1

I’m seeing a helicopter over the Mexican border about 180 miles away from Austin, Texas. I also saw a C172 over Plano, a similar distance to the north. I figured they were from TISB messages, but I turned off the radio buttons for both OTHER and TISB, and I’m still seeing the helicopter. Is there an atmospheric effect or something? The helicopter is a DPS helicopter flying reportedly at about 1600 feet.

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Some reading on the topic above.
Seen someone else from Austin reporting ducting yesterday so it’s not unlikely there is ducting going on in the area currently.

2 Likes
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Thanks. I googled tropospheric ducting map and was pleasantly surprised to find a map right away.

ducting 2025-05-14
ducting 2025-05-14932×720 38.1 KB