This is my understanding of the current state of technology, what is currently being done, and what the blind spots are that have prevented lives being saved around the world in the event of land crashes and water crashes.
Knowing the buzz words it is easy enough for the reader to use a web search engine to read the details and form their own opinions. (I would post links to references but with a dozen links this comment would probably be automatically filtered out as spam.)
I suggest starting with the Wikipedia article titled “Distress radiobeacon” and if you’re still curious looking at its footnotes. Then do a web search on the buzz words. Good buzz words narrow down search results.
1. Automatically-deploying aviation ELTs (emergency location transmitters) are already required on most aircraft in Canada and most medium and large passenger aircraft in the USA.
2. ELTs are not required in most of the rest of the world.
3. The maritime equivalent of ELTs, EPIRBs (emergency position-indicating radio beacons), are already required world-wide on all ships and large boats.
4. The standards for ELTs require they automatically deploy in the event of a crash.
5. The standards for ship-mounted EPIRBs require they automatically deploy in the event of a sinking. (Lifeboat EPIRBs don’t seem to have this requirement.)
6. The standards for ELTs require they be fireproof.
7. The standards for ELTs do not require they float.
8. The standards for EPIRBs require they float.
9. Current generations of ELTs and EPIRBs automatically generate an alert calling for an immediate rescue at the time of the crash or sinking.
10. ICAO’s proposed new 15 minute rule does nothing to raise an alarm at the time of the crash.
11. Early obsolete versions of ETLs only transmitted a beacon that could be homed in on. This meant these old ELTs had to survive crashes with battery life and fire resistance capable of keeping them working for the full duration of a search.
12. Current generations of ELTs and EPIRBs automatically transmit both craft registration IDs and GPS-determined crash coordinates. This means they only now only need to survive long enough to determine their GPS location and transmit their full emergency call a couple of times. So they only really need to survive fire or float for about 15 minutes.
13. The proposed new 15 minute rule will allow later looking up the location of the aircraft 15 minutes before it lost contact.
14. There is existing international infrastructure (including satellites, ground stations and computers) for receiving ELT and EPIRB signals from anywhere in the world, automatically determining the relevant national search and rescue authority responsible for the crash or sinking location, and automatically forwarding the distress call on to that national S&R authority within a few minutes.
15. The proposed new 15 minute rule will require new infrastructure to connect to the existing infrastructure.
16. If someone developed and got FAA approval of for a floating ELT it could be on aicraft and saving lives the following week.
17. If government agencies mandated ELTs world-wide they would be saving lives around the world the same way they save lives in Canada and the USA every year.
18. The old problem of ELTs and EPIRBs causing false alarms that wasted money by requiring lengthy searches no longer exists because new ELTs and EPIRBs transmit registration IDs and GPS coordinate. It is easy to see whether the location is a maintance hanger or garbage dump, and easy to determine which aircraft was supposedly involved so a phone call can determine if it was in the air.
At about $10,000 to $50,000 per aircraft (the cost of a big jet’s windshield wiper motors) this seems like a no-brainer — so why not require automatically-deploying fireproof and floating ELTs on large passenger aircraft world-wide? Start saving lives next week in the case of land crashes. And for ocean crashes, start saving lives as soon as someone figures out how to add floation material to one of the existing ELT designs and gets FAA approval for it.
This is my understanding of the current state of technology, what is currently being done, and what the blind spots are that have prevented lives being saved around the world in the event of land crashes and water crashes.
Knowing the buzz words it is easy enough for the reader to use a web search engine to read the details and form their own opinions. (I would post links to references but with a dozen links this comment would probably be automatically filtered out as spam.)
I suggest starting with the Wikipedia article titled “Distress radiobeacon” and if you’re still curious looking at its footnotes. Then do a web search on the buzz words. Good buzz words narrow down search results.
1. Automatically-deploying aviation ELTs (emergency location transmitters) are already required on most aircraft in Canada and most medium and large passenger aircraft in the USA.
2. ELTs are not required in most of the rest of the world.
3. The maritime equivalent of ELTs, EPIRBs (emergency position-indicating radio beacons), are already required world-wide on all ships and large boats.
4. The standards for ELTs require they automatically deploy in the event of a crash.
5. The standards for ship-mounted EPIRBs require they automatically deploy in the event of a sinking. (Lifeboat EPIRBs don’t seem to have this requirement.)
6. The standards for ELTs require they be fireproof.
7. The standards for ELTs do not require they float.
8. The standards for EPIRBs require they float.
9. Current generations of ELTs and EPIRBs automatically generate an alert calling for an immediate rescue at the time of the crash or sinking.
10. ICAO’s proposed new 15 minute rule does nothing to raise an alarm at the time of the crash.
11. Early obsolete versions of ETLs only transmitted a beacon that could be homed in on. This meant these old ELTs had to survive crashes with battery life and fire resistance capable of keeping them working for the full duration of a search.
12. Current generations of ELTs and EPIRBs automatically transmit both craft registration IDs and GPS-determined crash coordinates. This means they only now only need to survive long enough to determine their GPS location and transmit their full emergency call a couple of times. So they only really need to survive fire or float for about 15 minutes.
13. The proposed new 15 minute rule will allow later looking up the location of the aircraft 15 minutes before it lost contact.
14. There is existing international infrastructure (including satellites, ground stations and computers) for receiving ELT and EPIRB signals from anywhere in the world, automatically determining the relevant national search and rescue authority responsible for the crash or sinking location, and automatically forwarding the distress call on to that national S&R authority within a few minutes.
15. The proposed new 15 minute rule will require new infrastructure to connect to the existing infrastructure.
16. If someone developed and got FAA approval of for a floating ELT it could be on aicraft and saving lives the following week.
17. If government agencies mandated ELTs world-wide they would be saving lives around the world the same way they save lives in Canada and the USA every year.
18. The old problem of ELTs and EPIRBs causing false alarms that wasted money by requiring lengthy searches no longer exists because new ELTs and EPIRBs transmit registration IDs and GPS coordinate. It is easy to see whether the location is a maintance hanger or garbage dump, and easy to determine which aircraft was supposedly involved so a phone call can determine if it was in the air.
At about $10,000 to $50,000 per aircraft (the cost of a big jet’s windshield wiper motors) this seems like a no-brainer — so why not require automatically-deploying fireproof and floating ELTs on large passenger aircraft world-wide? Start saving lives next week in the case of land crashes. And for ocean crashes, start saving lives as soon as someone figures out how to add floation material to one of the existing ELT designs and gets FAA approval for it.