What plane is flying over me right now?
A jet goes over low enough to rattle the windows, or a formation of something fast crosses the horizon, and the question is immediate: what was that? The answer is almost always knowable — usually in under a minute — because nearly every aircraft overhead is publicly broadcasting exactly who it is.
Here's how to identify the plane flying over you right now, what to do about the ones that don't show up on trackers, and how to turn "what was that?" moments into a permanent spotting log.
The 10-second answer: check a live flight map
Aircraft in controlled airspace broadcast their identity, position, and altitude over ADS-B, and live flight maps plot those broadcasts in real time. Open a live map, find your location, and the aircraft overhead is right there — registration, type, origin, and destination.
SpotterLog's live map shows aircraft positions on an interactive map, and because it's built on a full aviation database, tapping an aircraft gives you more than a route: the registered owner, the airframe's age, and its full story are one tap deeper.
When the plane doesn't show up on the map
Some traffic won't appear: many military flights, some law-enforcement aircraft, and aircraft flying low without ADS-B in uncontrolled airspace. For those, old-fashioned identification still works — and works best with a photo.
Photograph the aircraft, even imperfectly. A modern phone zoom or a cropped shot usually recovers the tail number, and the photo's own GPS and timestamp establish exactly where and when the aircraft passed — which is precisely the evidence you need to identify it afterward and the record you'll want if it turns out to be something rare.
Turn 'what was that?' into a logbook
If you find yourself asking what's overhead more than a few times a year, you're already a plane spotter — you're just not keeping score yet. This is exactly the moment SpotterLog was built for: photograph the aircraft and the app logs where and when automatically, identifies the airframe from its tail number, and files the sighting into your personal collection.
The unexpected part is what happens next. Aircraft you've logged keep living: they change owners, get re-registered, move across the country, and occasionally end up in an NTSB report. SpotterLog watches every aircraft in your collection around the clock and sends a push notification when something happens to one of yours. The mystery jet from last summer stops being a memory and becomes a story you're following.
A note on helicopters and low traffic
Helicopters circling a neighborhood are the most-searched "what's flying over me" case of all. They're identifiable the same way — most show up on live maps, and all of them carry registrations. News, medevac, and police helicopters tend to be repeat visitors, so once you've logged one, you'll recognize it — and SpotterLog will already have its record the next time it comes around.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free app that tells you what planes are flying overhead?+
Yes. SpotterLog is free to download and includes a live aircraft map plus registry lookups. Point it at your location and you'll see what's overhead; photograph an aircraft and it becomes a logged sighting with the plane's full details attached.
Why can't I find the plane that just flew over my house?+
It was probably military, law enforcement, or flying without ADS-B in uncontrolled airspace — those don't always appear on public flight maps. If you managed a photo, the tail number plus the photo's GPS and time will usually identify it after the fact.
Can I find out where the plane overhead is going?+
Usually. ADS-B broadcasts combined with flight-plan data give origin and destination for most airline and many general-aviation flights. Private flights sometimes show position without a published route.
What was the military jet that just flew over me?+
Military aircraft often don't broadcast publicly, so live maps may show nothing. Your best tools are a photo (tail codes identify the squadron and airframe) and timing — military training routes and flyovers are often announced locally. Log the sighting with a photo and the details can be filled in once you've identified it.
Put it into practice
SpotterLog is free to start — photograph an aircraft, and the app identifies it, logs the sighting, and pulls its registry, owner, and incident history automatically.