Light aircraft missing in the outback of S.A.
Well i have a GME EPIRB (PLB) and had reason to turn it on just before Christmas in the US as well as manually turning on the built in US registered beacon.
Both were on for less than 1 minute before a successful landing where they were turned straight back off again.
I had Peter from CNB Search and Rescue calling me within 5 minutes to find out what was going on and who had deployed the beacon etc, they work in well under 1 minute anywhere in the world.
Don't ever go flying without one !
Both were on for less than 1 minute before a successful landing where they were turned straight back off again.
I had Peter from CNB Search and Rescue calling me within 5 minutes to find out what was going on and who had deployed the beacon etc, they work in well under 1 minute anywhere in the world.
Don't ever go flying without one !
Its part of my pre-flight briefing whenever i carry a passenger.... This is how you open the door, this is how you use the ballistic parachute, this is how you activate the PLB.....
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Waiting for the fire
Age: 65
Posts: 176
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
China Southern.
Jesus wept. If, in trouble, anyone knew precisely when to turn the radio on, nobody would ever get lost! They were conserving..... Conserving, both battery and personal energy. Why would they have the radio on at midnight, 30k nth of Marree? The system worked. Even if they did hear China Southern, would either party have understood the other? Doesn't matter, two fine people came home to their families. The system worked!
Thread Starter
Even if they did hear China Southern, would either party have understood the other?
DF.
One gets the impression from the interviews on TV that this little jaunt was a spur of the moment deal and they did not think to tell anyone they were going or where. And did they carry an epirb and if they did have one how hard is it to activate it? Muppets comes to mind and maybe the young fella who said he now had second thoughts about aviation as a pastime has now had a light bulb moment more in line with his competence.
"Precisely when to turn the radio on"? We're talking aircraft up at F360 not A050 - they could easily be in range for 40 minutes. Have a look at Flightradar24 for how many high level aircraft would be in range - Marree-Oodnadatta would be a reasonable distance to expect comms within.
There's a good chance an ex-pat would be on board and even if not comprehension is generally good, particularly if you keep it simple and clear - conveying a latitude and longitude wouldn't pose a challenge.
There's a good chance an ex-pat would be on board and even if not comprehension is generally good, particularly if you keep it simple and clear - conveying a latitude and longitude wouldn't pose a challenge.
Thread Starter
One gets the impression from the interviews on TV that this little jaunt was a spur of the moment deal and they did not think to tell anyone they were going or where.
And did they carry an epirb and if they did have one how hard is it to activate it?
The Advertiser said it was "very clever" of them to light a tyre - anyone would think that they were the first ones to think of doing that. And to me being very clever means not getting yourself in such a predicament to start with!
DF.
It's great that they're both fine - that's the point of the search and rescue effort. But I question the PIC's judgment if - repeat '"if" - he did not carry and know how to use a 406MHzGPS PLB, especially on a flight in such a remote and inhospitable area.
(ozaggie: Those PLBs speak an international language that lots of people hear and respond to very quickly. Even if there aren't aircraft at altitudes on air routes in the general area who are likely to hear the 121.5 homing signal, the SAR satellites are always orbiting up there listening out on 406. That's why they are there. Having the latitude and longitude of the beacon helps to focus the search and facilitate assistance as soon as practicable. It helps a lot.)
For my part, if I have to do a forced landing, I'm switching on the aircraft's ELT, and activating the PLB on my hip, on the way down. I practice it. I've already briefed any pax on how to do both themselves, if I fail to, as well where the spare PLB is and how to activate it. It's possible that all those gizmos will be damaged during the forced landing, along with the POB. But even a few seconds of activation (and a rushed mayday on VHF/HF) may be enough to alert someone, and not many more seconds may be enough for the PLB to provide accurate position information to a satellite. It's the difference between immediate, focused attention, and a needle in a haystack search over thousands of square kilometres, hours later when it dawns (sunsets?) on someone that something may have gone wrong.
If my friends and I are in trouble, I'd prefer the former.
(ozaggie: Those PLBs speak an international language that lots of people hear and respond to very quickly. Even if there aren't aircraft at altitudes on air routes in the general area who are likely to hear the 121.5 homing signal, the SAR satellites are always orbiting up there listening out on 406. That's why they are there. Having the latitude and longitude of the beacon helps to focus the search and facilitate assistance as soon as practicable. It helps a lot.)
For my part, if I have to do a forced landing, I'm switching on the aircraft's ELT, and activating the PLB on my hip, on the way down. I practice it. I've already briefed any pax on how to do both themselves, if I fail to, as well where the spare PLB is and how to activate it. It's possible that all those gizmos will be damaged during the forced landing, along with the POB. But even a few seconds of activation (and a rushed mayday on VHF/HF) may be enough to alert someone, and not many more seconds may be enough for the PLB to provide accurate position information to a satellite. It's the difference between immediate, focused attention, and a needle in a haystack search over thousands of square kilometres, hours later when it dawns (sunsets?) on someone that something may have gone wrong.
If my friends and I are in trouble, I'd prefer the former.
I heard an interview of the passenger, on ABC radio, in which reference was made to the activation of an ELT. So I reiterate my first post:
If an ELT was carried but didn't work properly, the malfunction is not the pilot's fault.
(For my part, I always assume that the ELT won't work. Hence the PLB on my hip and the spare in the seat pocket...)
If an ELT or PLB was activated, it didn't work well (if at all). Even an old 121.5 model would have been heard by aircraft in the general vicinity, if it had been working properly.
I will be very interested to find out the make/model/age/means of fitment/carriage of the beacon to which the story refers.
I will be very interested to find out the make/model/age/means of fitment/carriage of the beacon to which the story refers.
(For my part, I always assume that the ELT won't work. Hence the PLB on my hip and the spare in the seat pocket...)
News reported shortly after that the ELT failed to operate.
A good lesson there to regularly check your battery and to test your ELT operation regularly.
Who knows if that news was correct...
A good lesson there to regularly check your battery and to test your ELT operation regularly.
Who knows if that news was correct...
