What happens when an ELT is activated?

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Peacewind152@reddit

If you have a 406, you get a phone call. Ask me how I know.

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throwaway5757_@reddit

Does it play just over 121.5 frequency? How would I know if I accidentally set it off in the cockpit?

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toraai117@reddit

For a 121.5 ELT some broke CFI hops in a CAP 172 and finds which airport and hangar someone parked their airplane in after a not so smooth landing

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No_Advice_9017@reddit

At a school i used to work line service at, we had an ELT on a parked plane go off and someone from the Navy in Pensacola called me

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(in Canada) we had Trenton on the phone and they allowed us to demonstrate an ELT going off. I flipped the switch, heard a very very faint "beep" from behind the seat, then 2 minutes later got a call from Trenton and they narrowed the aircraft location to a 2x2 km square. You'd hear the ELT very loudly if you tuned 121.5. we then hit the reset switch and it went back to its dormant state

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JSTootell@reddit

I know what happens because we were ferrying a plane and my friend/copilot said "what's this"?

😂

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I-r0ck@reddit

An older 121.5 ELT will just play a beeping sound on guard. Newer 406 ELT’s will also broadcast your location to the SARSAT satellites.

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Significant-Path-713@reddit (OP)

I know it plays the alert, but I’m more curious who responds to the beacon. Does someone from ATC or FSS get involved or is it just an alert that goes back to the plane owner?

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I-r0ck@reddit

SARSAT is the US Coast Guard. Otherwise ATC will hear the alarm on 121.5 and might ask other aircraft in the area to help pinpoint its location. I’ve been involved in that a few times where ATC asks me to monitor it on departure

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makgross@reddit

ATC ignores ELTs, at least on 121.5. They MAY respond if a pilot reports it.

I just found one yesterday. Poor kid with a nice Mooney set it off at KTCY during a 100 hour inspection. It annoyed everyone for a whole week before I bitched and found it. Had to locate the owner through the city public works dept.

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22Planeguy@reddit

I guess I'm not ATC, but both times I've heard one and reported it, ATC was already tracking. I don't think it's really accurate to say they ignore them, unless they determine it got set off by accident.

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Chody911@reddit

ATC does not ignore ELTs. 121.5 is monitored and if its heard there are procedures that are gone through.

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FridayMcNight@reddit

An older ELT transmits a sine wave on 121.5. Planes flying overhead that are listening on that frequency report it to ATC, who then reports it to the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center.

A newer 406MHz ELT broadcasts a signal with the ELTs GPS location and identifier embedded in the signal; this goes directly to NOAA and AFRCC and doesn't depend on someone hearing it.

In both cases, AFRCC initiaties their process, which involves trying to contact the beacon owner, and if necessary, they initiate SAR through CAP and/or local authorities like Sheriff Offices, etc.. In the case of 406 beacons, the SAR teams know where to go to find the aircraft. For the older 121.5 ELTs, the SAR team uses radio direction finders to locate the source of the signal.

In remote, mountainous areas, a properly functioning 406 beacon can get rescue resources to you many hours faster than a 121.5 beacon.

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Significant-Path-713@reddit (OP)

Thank you for the response

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Gabriel_Owners@reddit

The same thing that happens when someone's car alarm goes off. Nothing at all.

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randombrain@reddit

To your edit, what is the actual process:

From an ATC point of view, our actions are spelled out in the 7110.65 paragraph 10–2–10. It's not a super long list; it basically boils down to "tell someone who can tell someone who has a direct line to the AFRCC."

We will attempt to triangulate the signal by having airborne aircraft report how strong it is in their location. This is actually one of the very few things that the Civil Air Patrol is useful for, if they happen to be flying around the area. They love flying patterns in the sky trying to track down an ELT.

Notice how there's one line that says "ATC personnel must not leave their duty stations in an attempt to locate the ELT." Everything in the book is there because someone tried to do it one time...

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Significant-Path-713@reddit (OP)

Thank you! This is exactly what I was looking for.

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adventuresofh@reddit

For the SARSAT Beacons, someone from the Air Force rescue team that monitors it will start calling the point of contact for the airplane and then emergency contacts. We’ve set them off accidentally before at work and they call you fairly quickly.

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buzzly@reddit

With a 406, the coastguard will try to get in touch with you, and anyone you listed when you registered your beacon. Many of these are false positives and they spend some effort trying to filter those out before they dispatch.

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N4bq@reddit

Not the Coast Guard. The Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Tyndall AFB is responsible for handling ELT activations. I had an ELT with a faulty connector that would inadvertently activate at every annual inspection. I got to talk to the nice Air Force people every year.

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Significant-Path-713@reddit (OP)

Thanks for the response. This gives me a place to start looking.

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Mundane-Reality-7770@reddit

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