Hi Ed,
I like the idea of a pre-impact "panic button". If manufacturers could
be convinced, there is no reason that canned emergency signals
identifying the airplane in distress (imagine a pre-programmed
individual "MAYDAY", if you will) could not be indicated by a
transponder and transmitted by com radio interconnected with such a
switch. Of course in most cases the aircraft in trouble has descended
to an altitude that would preclude reception of such signals unless
they were directionally beamed to a satellite for appropriate relay.
The technology to do all this exists. To implement it "instantly"
would be hideously expensive. To implement it incrementally as
satellites, ELTs, radios and transponders are replaced, not so much so.
Government is kind of like catsup...you either get none or way too
much ;<)
It was my impression that the panel-mounted switch merely relocated the
ELT "Off-On" switch from the unit (usually mounted rearward) to the
instrument panel. I don't think such a switch "triggered" (activated)
the ELT, but I could be wroong.
Regards,
WRB
--
On Aug 18, 2010, at 12:29, Ed Burkhead wrote:
On 2010-08-18 11:12 AM, JThomas Terry wrote:Makes for interesting
reading; seems the great 406 ELT’s may not be any better than our
121’s
I'm not inclined to credit this failure with any significance at this
time.
The first main fault of the old ELTs was the chronic failure (90%?)
of the automatic triggering mechanism to trigger the ELT. I think
this was being remediated toward the end since, I think, many or most
of the newly sold old-style ELTs came with a switch to mount on the
panel to trigger the ELT. [Statistic made up on the spot, per
standard procedure but based on many things I've read.]
I would assert my WAG that there's a 80% chance this new-style ELT
failed because its automatic trigger failed to turn it on.
The next levels of fault fault are
Installation. If the ELT is installed in a poor location where
the ELT brakes free from the antenna cable or if the antenna gets
sheered off, then it fails.
Bad luck: Sometimes the plane comes to rest in a way that the
antenna is under the fuselage or is otherwise blocked.
I suppose it occasionally happens that the battery could be dead
or the internal electronics could fail.
At least with the new 406 ELTs, if it gets switched on you have WAY
much better chance of quick rescue than with the old-style ELTs.
I figure I'll want a nice big panic button on my panel that I could
slap in a half-second if an emergency occurs. I'll be happy to call
in and apologize and thank them for their service if I make a
successful landing. If my landing fails or worse, having slapped that
button could give some broadcast time to the ELT before the fuselage
gets to the ground.
JMHO
Ed
