Halifax Airport (CYHZ) March 23, 2023
On the evening of March 23, 2023 the pilots of two Dash 8 aircraft reported a GPS Anomaly at 2141Z while preparing to land at Halifax Stanfield International Airport (CYHZ). As a result, the pilots of both aircraft opted to use the ground-based Instrument Landing System (ILS). Both aircraft landed without further incident. Analysis by KTEQ GEOSPACE has concluded that the source of the GPS anomaly reported by the pilots of Porter PD-2287 and Air Canada AC-8121 on March 23, 2023 at Halifax airport, was strong geomagnetic activity causing the significant degradation of the FAA WAAS LPV service. These findings were presented in detail on May 24, 2023 to select representatives of the Canadian Positioning, Navigation and Timing Board (PNTB) in Ottawa, Canada.

Air Canada Jazz AC-8121 Mar 23, 2023
On March 23, 2023 the pilot of Air Canada Jazz AC-8121, a De Havilland Dash 8, reported a GPS Anomaly at 2141Z while preparing to conduct an RNAV (GNSS) approach to Runway 14 at Halifax airport (CYHZ). Photo copyright and used courtesy of Shon Fridman at Jetphotos.com. At the time of the reported GPS anomaly the aircraft was 34 km northeast of the threshold to Runway 14 as shown in the photo below. Screen shot photo courtesy of FlightRadar24.com.


Porter PD-2287 Mar 23, 2023
On March 23, 2023 the pilot of Porter Airlines PD-2287, a De Havilland Dash 8, reported a GPS Anomaly at 2141Z (concurrent with the report from Air Canada flight) while preparing to conduct an RNAV (GNSS) approach to Runway 14 at Halifax airport (CYHZ). Photo above copyright and used courtesy of Shajie Hussain at Jetphotos.com. At the time of the reported GPS anomaly the aircraft was 163 km west of the threshold to Runway 14 as shown in the photo below. Screen shot photo below courtesy of FlightRadar24.com.

Porter PD-2287 Mar 23, 2023

NOAA G3 Geomagnetic Storm Mar 23, 2023
On March 23, 2023 the US NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center issued an alert of a G3 Strong Geomagnetic Storm. According to the report, “Intermittent GPS degradation is possible“

FAA WAAS – Significant Degradation in Canada on Mar 23, 2023
The US FAA WAAS Quarterly Performance Report #84 released in April 2023 indicated that the US FAA Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) Localizer Performance with Vertical Guidance (LPV) was significantly degraded in Canada at the time of the reported GPS anomaly at 2141Z.

The US NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center estimated the Kp-Index to be greater than 7 after 2100Z during the time of the reported GPS anomaly.