In the transmission business, a good ground plane is essential in getting a solid signal off the antenna, while using the least amount of power. In a traditional metal fuselage, that ground plane would obviously be the fuselage itself. In this bird however, a large piece of conductor for the antenna to work against may be more difficult to come by, especially at the ELT's required frequencies of operation (121.5 and 406 MHz).
If the ELT was activated some how, there is a possibility that a highly inefficient transmission scenario was occurring. This usually results in higher transmitter temperatures and/or higher battery drain.
Last edited by md80fanatic; 18th Jul 2013 at 23:36.