Canada Backs Off 406 ELTs

[wingnut55]

Canada's Minister of Transport, John Baird, has overruled his bureaucracy and suspended implementation of a controversial rule that would have required almost all aircraft to have certified 406 Mhz emergency locator transmitters installed by February of 2011 in order to fly legally in Canada.

The link

http://www.avweb.com/avwebbiz/news/CanadaBacksOff406ELTs_200325-1.html

seems Canada says the 406Mhz units fail just as much as the 121.5s units do

wow!! fodder for AOPA

[Trung Si Ma]

Sure hope it holds - we're taking the 172 to Fairbanks next summer.  Going to go up the highway and come back down the trench (wx dependent).

[RiverAux]

Even if the 406 failure rate or non-emergency activiation rate was exactly the same, it is an improvement over the current ELTs since you will be able to resolve many of them with just a few phone calls compared to 121.5s that all have to have missions launched if they beep long enough. 

[wingnut55]

Yes but I think we have completely dropped the ball on DFing a 25 mw 121.5 signal from aircraft, we can barely DF a 1,000 mw 121.5 signal

[DG]

Yes but I think we have completely dropped the ball on DFing a 25 mw 121.5 signal from aircraft, we can barely DF a 1,000 mw 121.5 signal

Unfortunately, it is too true.

A big reason I am against simulated ELT searches (no 121.775 practice beacon put out) on initial Forms 91.  But in my Wing, I am shouted down on that one.