If You Want to Be Found... Leave a Trail

Recently, an ultralight pilot departed his local air patch for a brief local pleasure flight. He hadn't returned by fuel-exhaust time, and his worried wife called the airport to ask about him. Airport security could tell her that the aircraft wasn’t there, but the FSS reported that there was no flight plan or itinerary, and so they had no way of telling where the aircraft might be. The pilot’s wife didn’t believe that a search was needed until daylight, but the skeptics in the FSS began conducting field checks, asked high flyers to listen out for ELTs on 121.5 MHz, and advised the rescue coordination centre (RCC). The RCC called the search and rescue (SAR) squadron, which started cranking the gears to get the duty Herc and its crew airborne.

Shortly after, the pilot’s wife decided that a search would be a great idea. While the duty SAR Herc was preparing to launch, the FSS contacted a local pilot familiar with the missing pilot's modus operandi. This pilot took off and, shortly afterwards, picked up a "Mayday" call from the missing aircraft. He relayed the crash position information to the FSS, and a local helicopter was sent to pick up the missing pilot.

As luck would have it, the missing pilot's misadventure had started shortly after takeoff. He had met some difficulty while operating at a low level and at low power settings, and made a forced landing. The eventual landing site was not one that enjoyed radio contact with the FSS, and so he had been unable to alert others to his flight.

At first glance, this appears to be one of those all's-well-that-ends-well episodes from which we can glean no useful lessons, but there are a couple of points to ponder. For one thing, the pilot was flying an ultralight. This means that he probably didn’t have an ELT. Thus, in the event of a crash or forced landing, he had no ready means of transmitting a constant distress signal on 121.5 MHz. Not having this safeguard means that another safeguard becomes even more important. And what safeguard is that?

That safeguard is the flight plan, the flight notification, or the flight itinerary. Sure, these things have been around for years, but how many people believe that they are useful for emergency purposes? Unfortunately, too few. However, flight plans, etc., are really a pilot's first line of defence in the unlikely event of a crash or forced landing. ELTs, as good as they are, can be consumed by a post-crash fire, submerged in a lake, or simply damaged beyond operability.

Flight plans are a different matter. ATS folks are extremely eager to log an equal number of takeoffs and landings over a period of time. If one of their little sparrows takes off and doesn't come back, they get extremely concerned, and start doing frequency searches, airfield searches, and many things "you have not Association, which will quickly start a search.

In this instance, the lack of a flight plan led to considerable uncertainty — uncertainty that was resolved by the FSS taking the action that would normally be taken to locate an overdue aircraft. But what prompted them to take the action? The inquiry from the pilot’s wife. So far, so good. However, she didn't have the information needed to be of much help, that is, where the pilot was going and how long he was expected to be gone.

In this case, the weather was good and there were no serious injuries. But let's change a couple of things. Let's suppose that a rapidly moving cold front rolled through the area well after the time that the pilot intended to be back, but before any alarm had been raised. Let’s suppose, too, that serious injuries had resulted during the forced landing. Then what? The outcome could have been sadly different.

Sure, filing a flight plan, etc., can be a drag, but not filing one can lead to results that are even more of a drag. In this instance, a pilot spent an unexpected night in the wilderness and was apparently little the worse for it. However, the potential for disaster was there. If you're one of those hardy individualists who says, "A plague on NAV CANADA and all of its works," you might want to do a quick attitude check; they're nice people, really, and they’re there to help you. If you must express yourself by ignoring them, find a trusted agent, such as a spouse or a friend, and tell him her or it: "I'm going flying along this route from A to B to C and back to A, and if I'm not back by nine o'clock tonight, call the FSS and tell them that I'm down somewhere along that route." Additional information, such as the colour of the aircraft, the number of people on board, and the survival gear and radios on board would also be useful for this person to have.

Yes, this episode ended well, but it did so through good luck, not good management. This pilot bet his life on good luck. Would you be as lucky as he was?

Originally Published: ASL 1/1998
Original Article: If You Want to Be Found...Leave a Trail 

Investigators probing a recent crash came upon the aircraft's ELT. Its function switch was in the OFF position. Consequently, after the crash, the ELT exhibited all the volubility of your average Sphinx. "So what?" you say. "ELTs have been doing that since they were invented. What makes this one so different?"

This ELT was equipped with a cockpit control and monitor. With the control, the pilot can reset inadvertent alarms triggered by landings where the down time was confirmed by the local seismograph. The pilot can also trigger the ELT if he or she sees that the flight is about to be rudely interrupted by some wayward mountain.

However, if the ELT is not ARMED, none of the above is possible. The good news is that an ELT with its function switch in the OFF position will not transmit a false alarm. The bad news is that it won't transmit any real ones either.

If your ELT has one of those fancy remote controls and monitors up in the cockpit, you may think that you have all the bases covered. But, unless you have peeked at the ELT itself, hidden back there in the tailcone, you could have a problem.

The remote control and monitor tells you what an ARMED ELT is doing. It won't tell you what an unarmed ELT is doing.

Do you have a real ELT in your aircraft? Or is it one of those Venus de Milo models. You know, unarmed. Why not look and see?

Bob Merrick

Originally Published: ASL 4/1996
Original Article: Unarmed ELT

DON'T WALK OUT... Stay in the Prime Search Area

Walking, they say, is as good as running. But not always. If you're trying to stay in shape, walking can indeed be as good as running. But if you're trying to get your shape back to the jungle we call civilization, walking can be hazardous to your health.

Years ago, when luckless aviators found themselves contemplating a wrecked biplane zillions of miles from the nearest outpost, they had no choice but to walk out. After all, they had just totalled the only aircraft in the area. And without a homing pigeon, they had no way of telling anyone where they were, and what had happened to them. So, back in the early days of aviation, walking out was de rigueur.

But it was at least 40 years ago when such teaching went out of style. With the advent of SAR forces, radios and, more lately, ELTs and satellites, the advice is to stay with the aircraft.

Why? Because when SAR starts looking for people, it goes to the last known point, then follows the proposed track. Although they're really looking for the people inside the airplane, they have long since learned that the aircraft is easier to see than the people. Thus the search tends to concentrate on that area between the last known point and the proposed destination.

The search isn't confined to that area, but it does start there, and initially concentrates there. During the search, SAR and CASARA crews look for anything unusual. You might think that a person wandering through the woods in a passionate purple T-shirt and bright yellow stretch pants would stand out, but such targets are pretty small. Even the larger remnants of, say, a single-engine Cessna or Piper are hard to see. But they are bigger than the average person.

Thus, SAR organizes the searches to find the downed aircraft. What does this mean to restless campers who think that walking out is showing admirable initiative? Unless they are retracing their proposed flight route, it means that they are moving away from the primary search area; away from possible detection.

Once in a very long while, there is a good reason to move away from the crash site. If the aircraft slides underwater, you don't want to sit in the middle of the lake for too long, amusing the fish. But you shouldn't go much farther than the nearest shore. If you're in the middle of a large forest fire, you'd probably want to move smartly to the upwind side. If you're surrounded by opposing factions in a hot war, walking — even running — out becomes an option. And, if you're in the middle of a Tyrannosaurus Rex family reunion, walking out could suddenly be an idea whose time has come. Better the idea's time should come than yours.

Failing any of the above, you might as well stay with the wreckage. If you can get at the ELT, move its function switch to ON. Then leave it there. The SAR tech who comes to your rescue can make any further switch selections.

Of course, you want to make yourself visible to SAR or CASARA crews. During the day, smoke gets attention. Your campfire, covered with pine boughs, will have local environmental wallahs on your case in no time. You can also add a touch of oil from the engine crankcase, just to make the smoke smokier.

Shiny bits from the aircraft can make signalling mirrors that you can flash into the SAR pilots' eyes. Or, as one pilot did recently, you can arrange larger chunks of aircraft in a nearby clearing to make it show up better for airborne searches. This isn't always an option, as Providence does not scatter nearby clearings to order, but it did work a few weeks ago.

Search efforts taper off at night, as SAR crews are not wild about flying into mountains. However, there are overflights, and most pilots are pretty good about reporting fires in areas where no fires had trodden before. Thus, an especially exuberant fire should get attention. However, you should take precautions to prevent being a feature attraction in the Great Forest Cook-off.

If you're an incorrigible Type A and think you must walk out — don't. Not unless you can see the lights of a nearby town, and the road connecting you to it. Even then, remember that distances are deceiving. If you must leave, leave a message of some sort. Let SAR know that you survived, and that you are walking northeast to salvation.

Salvation is fine. Too often however, it becomes eternity.

Stay with your aircraft.

Originally Published: 1/1997
Original Article: DON'T WALK OUT...Stay in the Prime Search Area