Originally Posted by
voando
ELT's, CPI's, ADELT's, PLB's, EPIRB's etc are all meant to provide a means of locating someone in distress, particularly in remote areas / areas lacking in radio coverage. We know that despite all the possibilities to carry such devices, they often fail to work on the day, for whatever reason.
Satellite tracking, with adequate monitoring of flightpath, seems a far more reliable method of directing SAR to the necessary location. Simply because where the signal /track stops the aircraft will be located within a 3 minute radius. It can also have an emergency mode if the crew are aware of an emergency.
I think we place too much regulatory reliance on devices we know do not ensure success in rapidly locating when required.
Interesting to note that that there has been a recent mandatory engineering check of crash switches installed in certain ELTs (not limited to one aircraft type) because some have been found to be faulty. Our aircraft was checked just a couple of months ago.