Mandatory ELT - Frequently Asked Questions

 

The FAA does not require ELTs in gliders.  Why is the SSA Rules Committee proposing mandatory ELTs for all contests beginning in 2006?

 

The experience of Peter Masak's accident at the 2004 15 Meter Nationals was a wake-up call for the competition community.  Although Peter could have been anywhere within a several hundred square mile area, a search and recovery was made possible only because an ELT was installed in his glider.  Given the nature of the terrain where he crashed, without an ELT it could have been years until he was found.  At best it would be naive to assume that it would have been less than several weeks.

 

Accounting for all pilots who fly each day is undeniably a responsibility that the contest organizers bear.  This initiative gives them a tool to use.  Just imagine yourself as the CD or CM with the responsibility of finding a lost pilot at the end of a difficult contest day.  If you couldn't find him, when would you give up searching?  Would you not wish that the glider had an ELT?  Cheap insurance!

 

This sounds like a knee-jerk reaction to an isolated event.  

Not so.  At the 1991 Standard Class Nationals there was a similar close call.  A glider was seen disappearing into the trees on the ridge, but the observer couldn't remember the exact location.  Several contestants landed at a nearby grass strip to make contact with the local rescue personnel.  The rescuers promptly asked if the glider had an ELT. 

To the “no” response, they said that, absent a known location, they would not put anyone on the mountain to look for the pilot unless there was an ELT signal to track.  There was a CAP airplane in the air above the ridge, but no signal to use.  The pilot's friends on the ground felt completely helpless.  Fortunately, he was able to walk out that afternoon.

From that experience, a number of pilots recognized the wisdom of flying with an ELT and began promoting the idea in safety talks during Regional and National contests.  In the most recent Pilot Opinion Poll, 48% of the respondents said they have an ELT in their glider.  This is a change that has developed slowly over several years.

Didn't the Pilot Opinion Poll say that pilot's don't want mandatory ELTs?  

Yes, the 2004 on-line opinion poll showed support for mandatory ELTs by only 42% of the respondents.  However, survey results from SRA meetings held during the contest season were also considered.  In one example, 80% of those present at the SRA meeting during the 2004 Standard Class Nationals in Hobbs, NM favored mandatory ELTs.

In the end, it was recognized that the effect of mandatory ELTs goes well beyond the cost to the pilots.  Consequently, the opinion poll was only one of the factors considered.

When the positive benefit to contest organizers, the soaring community, and the SSA were considered as well, the balance was easily tipped in favor of the initiative.

How can the large cost of equipping the entire fleet of competition gliders with ELTs be justified, given the low likelihood of a similar situation occurring again?

It's hard to quantify the cost of a search, but a case could be made that avoiding weeks of heartache, helicopter searches, ground operations, etc. could be worth more than $100,000 – perhaps much more.  Assuming that there are 500 gliders that fly competition and ELTs can be purchased for $200, the cost of equipping the entire fleet can be recouped from one incident where an ELT proves useful.

Wouldn't it make better sense to wait for the new type of ELTs that are coming in a few years?

While a new type of improved ELTs is becoming available, they currently cost $1,500 to $2,000 or more.  It will certainly be several years before they are anywhere near as affordable as a $219 ACK Technologies unit is today.  Spend 200 bucks, use it for five years, and replace it with a something better when it becomes affordable.  The cost of this approach is only $40 per year.

On the other hand, doing nothing about a serious problem because we are waiting for something better is not a responsible position.

What are TSO C-91, C-91A, and C-126?

The original ELTs introduced in 1973 were manufactured to the specifications of FAA TSO-C91.  In 1985, TSO-C91A was introduced to provide improved performance and reliability.   Today, C91 units are no longer allowed in new installations.  These first- and second-generation units broadcast an analog signal on 121.5 and 243.0 MHz.

Since then, an even more advanced model of ELT has been developed — the TSO-C126 ELT that transmits on 406 MHz in addition to 121.5 and 243.0.  On 406 MHz, these units broadcast a more precise digital signal that can include pilot and aircraft identification as well as GPS coordinates.  If you ever really need to rely on an ELT, you would want it to be one of these new units.

The FAA currently approves either TSO-C91A or TSO-C126 ELTs for use in aircraft.

 I heard that the 121.5 MHz units would be made obsolete in 2009.

The FAA has no plan in place to obsolete 121.5 MHz ELTs.  Although the international satellite detection program has announced their intent to stop monitoring 121.5 and 243.0 MHz on February 1, 2009, the FAA has not mandated new 406 MHz ELTs for the GA fleet by any date.

 

In fact, the current civilian capability (CAP) to locate 121.5 MHz ELT signals is likely to remain in place for some time in the future.  And, even with a new 406 MHz ELT, you will still broadcast a signal on 121.5.

Doesn't this mean that the SSA no longer agrees with the justification of the position that gliders should not be required to carry ELT's?

Requiring ELT's in specific circumstances remains consistent with the SSA position that says that ELT's should not be required by the FAA in all gliders under all circumstances.  A significant portion of glider flying is local. Radio usage in contests is tactically a disadvantage so position reporting and indication of where a pilot is going is almost nonexistent yet common in sport flying. The likely search area in contest flying is significantly larger than that of most recreational flying. It should be noted that contest rules require parachutes in contests even though the FAA does not. This is simply another piece of safety equipment.