[EQAndyBuzz]

I call BS.

[battlecry]

I agree. More than likely, if anything, EMI from the old Hughes RADAR Systems Group (now Raytheon) or Hughes Space and Comm (now Boeing Space Systems) facilities across the street. I used to open up the domes to test my microwave systems after 2AM to avoid EMI from the FAA RADAR across the street at LAX.

[Mark17]

I call BS.

I don't know. I was an air traffic controller for 20 years, and I never heard of anything like this.

[X-spurt]

Same here.

[ctdonath2]

The number was likely stored as an “unsigned integer” in 2 bytes, meaning the max value would be 64535 ... plenty for practically all air traffic, but “rolling over” (subtracting 64536 until it fits) for anything over that. This was long the norm in programming. So...a U2 comes by at 85000 ft, registers as 20000 ft, and lots of traffic around that level goes into a panic.