When you want to determine the location of a commercial aircraft, most airlines offer options for tracking planes in flight through their company websites. When you wish to determine the location of a private plane in flight, though, tracking programs are also available. Obtain the information by following a different procedure. Private plane tracking requires you to have the tail registration number of the plane. As required by the Federal Aviation Administration, a tail number is a registration number that identifies an individual aircraft.

Obtain the aircraft's tail number. Visit the Federal Aviation Administration website and search for the aircraft N-Number if registered in the U.S. or a G-Number if registered in Canada. Search the database using information such as the name, serial number, dealer or make and model of the aircraft.

Visit a private flight tracker website such as Stratos Jet Charter Services or Jet Charter.

Navigate to the Stratos Jet Charter Services home page and scroll to the bottom of the page, locate and click "Flight Tracker." Land on the page titled "Track Your Flight," enter your aircraft tail number in the designated field and click "Submit" to review the location of the private plane in flight.

Navigate to the home page of the Jet Charter website, hold your cursor over “Quote Request” on the first tab and click “Track a Flight Now.” Enter the aircraft tail number in the designated box and click "Submit" to track the location of the plane.

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