Narrative:

Something that has come to my attention is the incompatibility between [company] and alaska FSS. I have encountered several pilots (and myself) who have filed VFR flight plans electronically; which were then transmitted via [company]; only to have all data deleted. I find this to be extremely dangerous. My first encounter with this was a VFR flight from jnu to [destination]. I filed a flight plan electronically with my ipad via the app foreflight; which transmits to [company]. I got a file confirmation; and even opened my flight plan by radio with jnu FSS. Upon arriving; the flight service specialist there said they had no information on my flight except for a departure time sent by jnu. I thought this must just be a fluke. Upon talking to other pilots; particularly those from the conus (continental united states) who usually file electronically; I am concerned that this could become very dangerous. The [company] platforms do not indicate any problems; and even allow flight plans to be opened electronically. In my discussion with FSS specialists; they said they are aware of the problem but nothing has been done; and they've even had people call to close flight plans that were never opened or filed according to them; all because the [company] system is not interfacing. A pilot will be under the impression (and even have confirmation) that their flight plan and associated alerting is active; even when no such service has been assured. I fear the day someone actually goes missing on one of these flight plans and no one even knows. I think this needs to be addressed immediately; as the only way to effectively file a VFR flight plan in alaska is via telephone.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A Pilot reported several instances of VFR Flight plans being dropped from the system when filed electronically in Alaska

Narrative: Something that has come to my attention is the incompatibility between [Company] and Alaska FSS. I have encountered several pilots (and myself) who have filed VFR flight plans electronically; which were then transmitted via [Company]; only to have all data deleted. I find this to be extremely dangerous. My first encounter with this was a VFR flight from JNU to [destination]. I filed a flight plan electronically with my iPad via the app Foreflight; which transmits to [Company]. I got a file confirmation; and even opened my flight plan by radio with JNU FSS. Upon arriving; the flight service specialist there said they had no information on my flight except for a departure time sent by JNU. I thought this must just be a fluke. Upon talking to other pilots; particularly those from the CONUS (Continental United States) who usually file electronically; I am concerned that this could become very dangerous. The [Company] platforms do not indicate any problems; and even allow flight plans to be opened electronically. In my discussion with FSS specialists; they said they are aware of the problem but nothing has been done; and they've even had people call to close flight plans that were never opened or filed according to them; all because the [Company] system is not interfacing. A pilot will be under the impression (and even have confirmation) that their flight plan and associated alerting is active; even when no such service has been assured. I fear the day someone actually goes missing on one of these flight plans and no one even knows. I think this needs to be addressed immediately; as the only way to effectively file a VFR flight plan in Alaska is via telephone.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.