# opensky.traffic.aircraft_state

Get the current real-time ADS-B state vector for a single aircraft identified by its ICAO 24-bit hex address (e.g. 3c6444). Returns position, altitude, speed, heading, vertical rate, squawk, origin country, and whether on ground. If the aircraft is not currently tracked (landed, out of range, or transponder off) the response includes found=false. ICAO24 addresses can be looked up from aircraft registrations (e.g. N-number, D- prefix). Useful for tracking a specific flight in real time. Source: OpenSky Network — opensky-network.org. No auth, open access.

Agent View of the PolicyLayer registry record for `opensky.traffic.aircraft_state`. HTML page: https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/opensky.traffic.aircraft-state

## Facts

- Tool: `opensky.traffic.aircraft_state`
- Server: Apibase (`apibase-mcp-client`) — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase.md
- Install: `npx -y apibase-mcp-client`
- Homepage: https://github.com/whiteknightonhorse/APIbase
- Risk category: Read (Low risk)
- Registry record: grade F, identity unverified
- Server auth posture: open
- Server rate-limited: no
- Parameters: 1 (1 required)
- Recommended policy verdict: Allowed

## Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `icao24` | string | yes | ICAO 24-bit hex address of the aircraft transponder (e.g. 3c6444 for a Lufthansa aircraft) |

Parameters from the server's own tool schema.

## Example call (MCP tools/call, JSON-RPC 2.0)

```json
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "opensky.traffic.aircraft_state",
    "arguments": {
      "icao24": "<icao24>"
    }
  }
}
```

## Why opensky.traffic.aircraft_state is rated Low

Retrieves publicly available aircraft tracking data without side effects or access control.

From the tool's own definition: "Get the current real-time ADS-B state vector for a single aircraft"

## Use case

AI agents call opensky.traffic.aircraft_state to retrieve information from Apibase without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.

## Recommended policy (PolicyLayer)

Verdict: **Allowed**. Enforced by the PolicyLayer MCP gateway (https://policylayer.com/mcp-gateway) before a call reaches Apibase:

```json
{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "opensky.traffic.aircraft_state": {}
  }
}
```

## Other tools on Apibase (1383)

- `infra.cloudflare.dns_delete` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/infra.cloudflare.dns-delete.md
- `infra.cloudflare.purge_cache` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/infra.cloudflare.purge-cache.md
- `polymarket.trading.cancel_order` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/polymarket.trading.cancel-order.md
- `ai.image.generate` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/ai.image.generate.md
- `aipush.market.report` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/aipush.market.report.md
- `audio.transcribe.submit` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/audio.transcribe.submit.md
- `dev.code.execute` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/dev.code.execute.md
- `device.registry.command` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/device.registry.command.md
- `document.convert.from_pdf` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/document.convert.from-pdf.md
- `document.convert.to_pdf` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/document.convert.to-pdf.md
- `document.convert.web_to_pdf` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/document.convert.web-to-pdf.md
- `hf_inference.nlp.translate` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/hf-inference.nlp.translate.md
- `infra.browser.create_session` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/infra.browser.create-session.md
- `phone.telnyx.sms_world` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/phone.telnyx.sms-world.md
- `phone.twilio.sms` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/phone.twilio.sms.md
- `platform.batch.call` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/platform.batch.call.md
- `scb.tables.query` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/scb.tables.query.md
- `socrata.datasets.query` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/socrata.datasets.query.md
- `web.screenshot.capture` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/web.screenshot.capture.md
- `domain.namesilo.register` — Financial — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/domain.namesilo.register.md
- `phone.telnyx.sms_premium` — Financial — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/phone.telnyx.sms-premium.md
- `polymarket.trading.place_order` — Financial — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/polymarket.trading.place-order.md
- `abr.business.abn_lookup` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/abr.business.abn-lookup.md
- `abr.business.acn_lookup` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/abr.business.acn-lookup.md
- `abr.business.name_search` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/abr.business.name-search.md
- `abs.demographics.population` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/abs.demographics.population.md
- `abs.economy.cpi` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/abs.economy.cpi.md
- `abs.economy.gdp` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/abs.economy.gdp.md
- `abs.economy.labour_force` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/abs.economy.labour-force.md
- `abs.economy.trade` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/abs.economy.trade.md
- …and 1353 more: https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase.md

## For agents

This record is a snapshot. Live verdicts and the full registry:

- Check every server in your MCP config at once: `npx -y policylayer stack`
- Vet a server before you add it: install the mcp-precheck skill — `npx skills add https://policylayer.com` (skill text: https://policylayer.com/skill.md)
- Query the registry over MCP: endpoint `https://api.policylayer.com/mcp` — tools `check_mcp_server`, `check_mcp_stack`, `check_tool`, `search_registry`, `get_change_events`

---

Source: the PolicyLayer MCP registry — one continuously verified record per MCP server. Full record: https://policylayer.com/registry?q=io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase · API: https://policylayer.com/registry/api · Policy library: https://policylayer.com/policies/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase