Aircraft squawking 7700 near YWOL today

[PPRuNeUser0163]

Hi there,

Was listening to Sydney Approach 124.400 this morning about 1130 ish when Approach asked a rex aircraft descending into syd to broadcast on Wollongong- YWOL unicom as approach had seen an aircraft squawking 7700 right near the aerodrome. The rex aircraft did this and then reported back on 124.4 that they recieved no response

Anyone have any updated info?

[Robbovic]

Practising forced landings at WOL. Decided to make it more realistic by squawking 7700. Probably didnt realise we can see him there at 1600'.
Livened up the day considerably!

[PPRuNeUser0163]

What an absolute idiot.

Hopefully SY approach and other atc units can play back tapes and catch out the guy who did it.

I'm presuming would be an instructor, could be wrong but that is just totally irresponsible and CASA needs to take a hard stance on this.

Shame on the offenders!!:=

[C-change]

ML centre and Nowra ATC were also broadcasting and two Navy helicopters in the area also made broadcasts with no response.


Decided to make it more realistic by squawking 7700

If that is correct, what a :mad: goose !

I wonder how much effort was wasted on this clown ?

[rjtjrt]

Just out of interest what do you see and hear at ATC console when 7700 selected?
John

[ollie_a]

Kind of similar to this, obviously without the callsign if the aircraft is unknown.
http://www.metacraft.com/VRC/graphics/docs/TAAATS/myEMRG.png

[criticalmass]

I was on the ground at YWOL yesterday and monitored the radio exchanges in relation to this event.

There were a number of aircraft operating around the circuit area and near the coast, and as far as we were able to determine not one of them squawked 7700. I heard the Rex aircraft communications, plus some of the local aircraft from the flight training school, and they soon verified none of the training-school machines flying were mis-tuned as far as codes went.

We checked the transponder of one aircraft that was suspected of being the cause after it taxied back to the hangar and before the pilot shut it down and found the transponder hadn't been switched on...when we powered it up it came on with 1200 (it was a Becker transponder). Although he should have been using the transponder, his failure to do so on this occasion it clears him of any further suspicion.

A couple of aircraft near the coast conducted visual searches to see if an aircraft had come down in the water off the beaches around the area in question, but nothing was sighted. The pilots were not SAR-trained, so their search was of necessity cursory, although we were open to the possibility the emergency might be genuine and someone had gone down. However, this did not appear to be the case.

So, for those of us at YWOL yesterday, the cause remains unresolved, and we are no closer to determining whether the event was triggered by a local aircraft, or by someone cruising down the coast with their head in the office who inadvertantly hit the emergency code on a transponder or had a touch of finger-trouble.

Rather mystifying...and I for one hate mysteries.

[man on the ground]

Kind of similar to this, obviously without the callsign if the aircraft is unknown.


Nice pic Ollie!

rjtjrt, we also get a a very noticeable aural alarm at the console, alert message to the supervisors, and it is also alerted to any other unit that has surveillance in the area.

It won't be missed!

[Led Zep]

I remember squawking 7200 once. That 7 sure looks like a 1 on some transponders. ATC picked up that pretty quickly I tell you. :}