[MilCom] SARSAT Satellite Monitoring 121.5/243.0 mhz Ends Today!

[Lee- KI4NEJ]

Here's how it works on my side of the fence day in and day out. Airliner 
at say, FL390 reports an ELT, and notifies the Center sector he's in of 
same.

Controller reports it to the sup, and further reports are gathered to 
get a rough area of where the signal is strongest. Center then notifies 
closest Approach Control or Tower for reports. When we get reports of 
where the strongest signal is received, that info is relayed back to the 
Center (which doubles as RCC) and then you guys eventually get the call.

Your observation on rumors is just that. Air Carrier acft are mandated 
to monitor victor Guard- and not just for ELT's. It's our fail-safe to 
get ahold of them in case their main receivers go down on the discrete 
freq. (That's why you'll hear calls on 121.5 for an acft from ATC or 
another acft giving them a correct freq to be on.)

As far as the descent goes, they call company with an in-range call and 
any services they may need, and that's about it. I've flown many a 
familiarization flight over my career with the crew in the cockpit- it's 
a pretty neat perspective.

Lee
TPA
"Telling pilots where to go since 1982."


Ken wrote:
> Lee & the group:
> 
> Thanks for your input Lee.
> 
>  From a practical area search aspect, this doesn't work very well with 
> high flying aircraft, that easily can pickup a signal 200 miles away -- 
> without a signal strength meter on the radio, it's a very subjective 
> report.  When commercial aircraft are descending, generally that 2nd 
> radio is on the "company" frequency coordinating other aspects.  I've 
> also heard "rumors" that not all commercial airline aircraft continually 
> monitor 121.5 mhz, BUT will respond if ATC asks them to check the 
> frequency.
> 
> Aircraft at much lower altitudes have a better chance of better 
> isolating the signal to a more workable search area.
> 
> I highly doubt that the USAF is going to send up many Civil Air Patrol 
> search aircraft upon the initial high altitude report.  Perhaps when 
> lower flying aircraft report, there will be MORE CAP aircraft in the air 
> than before the satellite turnoff, and thus more cost to the taxpayer.
> 
> Ideally, those that take a bit of time on the ground to monitor 121.5 
> mhz, especially when they hear aircraft on one of their ATC frequencies 
> reporting an ELT signal, might contribute to a quicker resolution.
> 
> Ken
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lee- KI4NEJ" <ki4nej at gmail.com>
> To: <milcom at mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Monday, February 02, 2009 4:23 AM
> Subject: Re: [MilCom] SARSAT Satellite Monitoring 121.5/243.0 mhz Ends 
> Today!
> 
> 
>>
>>> IF a private aircraft were to crash and did not have a flight plan 
>>> and or
>>> VFR (radar) flight following established, it is very possible that the
>>> response would not even start for 8+ hours even IF the ELT beacon was
>>> working after the crash, because it is possible NO one would hear it!
>>
>> I disagree with the above paragraph. Air Carrier (US Air, Delta, etc,),
>> Air Taxi (Northwest Airlink, USAir Express, etc) and Air Cargo acft are
>> still mandated by Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR's) to monitor 121.5
>> continuously while in flight. If a beacon is heard on 121.5, they must
>> report it to ATC immediately, to include position, altitude when heard
>> and signal strength. We (ATC) then turn that report over to the Rescue
>> Coordination Center (RCC) which is at every Air Route Traffic Control
>> Center (Miami Center, Washington Center, etc).
> 
>> Trust me, as an air traffic controller, I wish they would mandate a move
>> to the newer beacons and move them off 121.5- even a hard landing will
>> set those off, unbeknownst to the pilot in many cases.
> 
>