Sat, Mar 14, 2009
Discarded Beacon Found In A Pile Of Rubbish
The Wellington, New
Zealand-based Westpac Rescue Helicopter crew sent ANN a cautionary
tale this week, concerning the perils of not properly disposing of
old 121.5 MHz emergency locator beacons. From the note sent
Thursday afternoon:
Rescue Co-ordination Centre NZ (RCCNZ)
tasked the helicopter to search for the source of the old 121.5
beacon just after 4 pm. The old 121.5 beacons are no longer picked
up by satellites circling the earth, but planes flying into and out
of Wellington were hearing the beacon quite strongly.
The helicopter team tracked the signal
to the Wainuiomata tip. The helicopter landed and then using a hand
held radio have narrowed the area where the beacon is located to a
few square metre area.
"Unfortunately the beacon is buried
beneath the rubbish so RCCNZ will not be able to get the beacon
switched off until workers at the tip are able to get in there with
a digger" says Dave Greenberg, Westpac Rescue Helicopter crewman.
"This should serve as a good reminder to people that when they
dispose of their old 121.5 beacons they need to ensure the battery
is removed, or the beacon is taken to a local police station where
the beacon can then be sent away for proper disposal."
As ANN reported, the US Civil Air Patrol and
US Air Force advised pilots and boaters last month on how to
properly dispose of their old ELTs, when swapping to the new 406
MHz devices. It's a worthwhile read... precisely so it won't be
YOUR old beacon that, in the worst case scenario, may pull a rescue
crew away from a true emergency, for a false alarm.
A cautionary tale, indeed...
More News
Also: B-29 Superfortress Reunion, FAA Wants Controllers, Spirit Airlines Pulls Back, Gogo Galileo Van's Aircraft posted a short video recapping the goings-on around their reorganiz>[...]
Light Gun A handheld directional light signaling device which emits a brilliant narrow beam of white, green, or red light as selected by the tower controller. The color and type of>[...]
"The journey to this achievement started nearly a decade ago when a freshly commissioned Gentry, driven by a fascination with new technologies and a desire to contribute significan>[...]
"Our driven and innovative team of military and civilian Airmen delivers combat power daily, ensuring our nation is ready today and tomorrow." Source: General Duke Richardson, AFMC>[...]
Aircraft Conflict Predicted conflict, within EDST of two aircraft, or between aircraft and airspace. A Red alert is used for conflicts when the predicted minimum separation is 5 na>[...]