R44 crash northern Alberta

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3rd Jan 2021, 00:06

#1 (permalink)

Bksmithca

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R44 crash northern Alberta

CBC and Global new are both reporting the crash of an R44 on Jan 1 north of Grand Prairie Alberta. All four occupants are reported as deceased and it's beleved that they are husband and wife plus there kids.

https://globalnews.ca/news/7551675/helicopter-crash-grande-prairie-alberta

3rd Jan 2021, 16:10

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twinstar_ca

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I live in Alberta and send my sincere condolences to the families and friends. I just wish the news stations would quit reporting that the police got a call from the ELT... Picky I know, but how many people who backcountry will buy a SPOT or something similar thinking it make a call rather than sending a signal...

3rd Jan 2021, 16:57

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GrayHorizonsHeli

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it is possible they got a call.
spidertracks has the ability to notify those you selected in your Tiers, and one never knows....the RCMP could have been one of those contacts.

3rd Jan 2021, 17:31

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malabo

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In Canada when an ELT signal is received by anyone it goes through JRCC (Joint Rescue Coordination Centre) that then notifies the local RCMP for investigation. If further resources are required it would be at the request of the RCMP. TC AIM 3.4.

On a 406 ELT that is registered they also contact the registered owner or company. Most operators and private flyers now also have onboard tracking information (SPOT, INREACH, SpiderTracks. BlueSky, Skytrax, etc.) that is accessible from their ATC flight plan profile.

More curious is the 8:50pm notification, over five hours after sunset.

Last edited by malabo; 3rd Jan 2021 at 17:48.

3rd Jan 2021, 19:43

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twinstar_ca

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Good points, guys.... and I agree on the 20:50 notification time...

3rd Jan 2021, 21:40

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Outwest

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The a/c may not have had a 406 as it was privately owned. A 406 signal is almost instantaneously acted on whereas with a 121.5 it could take a long time before anyone first hears it, decides if it is a false activation, figures out where it might be coming from, tries to call around and see if there are any missing a/c, etc, etc. 5 hours passing before they get the ball rolling with 121.5 only is unfortunately not uncommon.