Why Satellites Don’t Track Airplanes
Friday, 21 March 2014 | by Pat's Picks

Airlines routinely use satellites to provide WiFi to passengers in-flight. But they don’t use satellites for the more routine task of tracking planes and gathering the information from flight data recorders. The New York Times says neither airlines nor regulators have adopted the use of satellites for these tasks given the cost and the general safety of air travel.
SOURCE: New York Times