Linda, Most ELT antennas are located on the tail or on top of the fusalage. I don't remember seeing an antenna on the belly. If it is it should be moved to a location that will not be broken off on impact. Another item to consider is the ELT signals transmit upward towards the Satellite or to other aircraft or ground facilities. If it was on the belly the aircraft would block some of the signal. I am a Mission Check Pilot and one of my favorite ways to confuse the pilot I am checking out is to place a practice ELT ( we use portable ELTs on different freqs) near a metal building or under a piece of old aircraft in a field with the ELT. This simulates an aircraft in a hangar or in an accident with the ELT being covered up. The metal causes the signal to bounce all over the place, thus confusing the pilot, and they must them demonstrate the correct way to locate the ELT.
When I give my checkouts and train other pilots in search methods I use the think process of - I just crashed and I am waiting for that pilot and crew to locate me. If I train them that way, I may stand a better chance of being located. Same as before I start a checkride . I advise the pilot that he just crashed and we are looking for him. After the flight I asked if he was found in time to save his life. Answers are usually honest. Some ask for more training, others feel they were found in time. But since I have the reputation of being a " hard nose check pilot" some say if it was me they were looking for there may be a delay. I have been searching for missing aircaft for 20 years and in the majority of aircraft we located, the ELT antenna was broken off and we could not receive a signal. Most of our previous 121.5 ELT signals received from the Satellites usually come from hard landings, maintenance personnel checking the ELT and forgetting to turn it off after the check was complete or the pilot accidentually turning it on. That is why I always ask pilots to turn their radio to 121.5 before shutting down as they may either hear another ELT or it could be theirs. I was part owner in an Archer II and it had an ELT activation switch on the panel which was great as we could turn it on as soon as we had an emergency and the wheels would be starting to turn towards searching. I tell the pilots if an emergency happens and if time permits, put the transponder on 7700, transmit on 121.5 and if you have the ELT arm switch in the cockpit, turn it on. I know that is alot along with the normal emergency procedures but at least we will be looking for you. All FAA radar facilities record all radar tracks on the computer using lat/long. Many times when I was the Incident Commander of a mission, I would call the FAA facilities and request their radar plots ( NTAPS) to aid in our searching. Each time their information has assisted us in locating the aircraft. It is easier to track a 7700 code than a bunch of 1200's. In CAP we are required to file and activate a flight plan if our flight is beyond 50NM. We also stress flight following by radar facilities. Many times I fly from the DC area to Pittsburgh, Pa and this flight takes me over alot of mountains. When I cannot get radar flight following I always file a flight plan and make position reports to FSS along the route. This insures my radios are working and it also gives search and rescue a better idea of my last known position which we usually use as a starting point. Easier to start from a last known position than try to cover a complete flight that may cover hundreds of miles. Our CAP aircraft and ground teams still have the DF capability to track 121.5 as well as 406 so we will still be able to find you. Problem is the Satellites usually gave us an early head up and now that is gone. But the 406 will still be monitored by Satellites and our CAP aircraft when we are flying. Sorry this email got to be so long but thought it was important. Jim ----- Original Message ----- From: Linda Abrams To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, February 02, 2009 5:05 PM Subject: [ercoupe-tech] !21.5 Emergency Freq Thanks for your post Jim. The part below brings to mind a question: since the belly of the plane seems most likely to take damage in a crash, why are ELT antennas there? Linda N3437H (Sky Sprite) L.A. Jim Truxel wrote: "The aircraft impacted the ground with such force that the ELT antenna was broken off, thus the signal could not be transmitted to the Satellites."
