SARNEWS.com article - November

[KyCAP]

Searching for Crashed Aircraft: High Tech vs Traditional Methods

An interesting article by Richard Brooks in the Press-Enterprise recounts the stories of two missing pilots and their aircraft that were recently located by happenstance - long after intensive searches using high tech satellite and radar systems had ended. In California, a sheriff's helicopter pilot discovered the wreckage of a small tan-colored airplane underneath a tree. Satellite images could not detect it against the terrain, but sunlight reflecting off of the wreckage caught the attention of the pilot. In Nevada, a hiker came across Steve Fossett's ID and jacket, which then lead to recovering his remains and burned out airplane.  Experts in searching for missing aircraft say that the most reliable resources for finding someone quickly are Air Traffic Control radar data and the plane's ELT radio beacon; once it is determined where to look, then efforts rely on searchers on the ground. Experts seem to agree that more crash-resistant beacons may be most effective in enabling searchers to find crash victims sooner. In addition, NASA is developing the Distress Alerting Satellite System, which aims to send crash-beacon signals immediately to stations on the ground and report more accurate locations.

http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_S_sar10.46ac6aa.html?npc

[Pumbaa]

The Mark 1 eyeball is still a great tool, that will never be replaced.