CIVIL AIR PATROL, AIRPLANE, AIRCRAFT, AVIATION, FLYING, CAP, L-16

Mission Scenario
An airplane crashes in the wilderness. There are survivors, but they must be removed from the wilderness before they die. The crash survivors must look after them selves until they are located and a rescue team arrives on the crash site. By law, all civil and military aircraft (except scheduled airliners) carry an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) on board. The ELT begins transmitting when it is activated by the G-forces caused by the crash. USAF Sarsat and USSR Copas satellites are continuously orbiting the earth ready to receive an emergency signal from a crashed airplane's ELT. When the satellite receives an emergency signal it begins sending information about the crash location to the USAF or USSR air force search and rescue headquarters. The rescue satellites can only receive signals with in a limited radius of their orbits. This implies that several hours may pass before an exact position can be determined. This part of the process will take at least 2 hours. Often 4 or more hours of effort are required at this point. The information from the satellite(s) is received in the Search And Rescue Headquarters located on Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, USA. A computer system in the Headquarters is used to compute the approximate location of the ELT. When the computer has determined that a real emergency signal, and not just a test signal, is present the USAF team will begin to research the possible sources of the signal. Ships, boats, hunters and backpackers all carry emergency radios that transmit on the same 121.5 MHz frequency as airplanes. They also modulate their signal with a similar varying audio frequency tone. At this point in the process inquiries are made by the USAF team to FAA offices and to others to determine, if possible, what airplane, ship or person is missing and presumed to be in danger. The officer on duty will review the information that has been gathered by his team and decide if a mission is warranted and what resources are appropriate for the mission. He will begin the mission by activating a coordinating agency in the geographical area of the emergency. One of the resources available is the Civil Air Patrol. Civil Air Patrol (CAP) personnel are trained to control a Search And Rescue mission as well as just participate in a mission. This ability is created by completing training courses taught by both CAP and USAF personnel. The abilities to perform SAR duties are also enhanced through practice at both the local and state level. There are over 10,000 CAP personnel prepared to support a USAF mission. Operations are conducted in all US of A states. And they do this at very little cost to the US government,. They use personally owned cars, trucks, airplanes and other equipment to conduct the vari ous USAF authorized missions. The CAP Corporation owns a few aircraft and ground vehicles, but the vast resources come from the dedicated members. At this point in the process a CAP Search And Rescue team is formed and the actual search mission begins. The first actions are to gather information and conduct planning. Safety of the participants is the top priority of all involved in the mission. The CAP Mission Coordinator decides what resources are needed and authorizes and directs their safe deployment. Before a victim can be rescued he or she must be located. The fastest way to move "the eyes that must see the victim" is by airplane. With an airplane the search crew can go anywhere and see all that is to be seen, and do so quickly. If the satellite system located the ELT accurately only one air crew may be needed to verify the location. Some times the location of the victim is in doubt, so several air crews are dispatched into individual search areas in a coordinated effort to locate the victim before he or she dies. During the air search part of the process the air crew must remain vigilant during their entire flight. There have been crash sites located by an alert air crew while in transit to, or from, their assigned search area. The crash was never suspected to be in that location. Nothing can replace an alert air crew. Communications is a large part of any mission. With out dependable two way wireless communications many additional search teams are required to achieve the required results in the small frame of time available. Many of the aircraft are equipped with ADF, GPS and HAM/CAP FM transceivers. The search aircraft's progress is monitored though position reports by the air crew using the CAP FM transceiver. The GPS receiver can be used to navigate to the assigned search area or any other appropriate method of navigation can be used. If the ELT signal can be acquired, the ADF (VHF Automatic Direction Finder) is used to navigate the aircraft close enough to the crash site that the air crew can easily locate the site visually. When the site is located the GPS (Global Positioning System) is used to determine and electronically mark the exact crash location. The exact location obtained from the GPS makes it is easier to move rescue personnel onto the site. The victim/survivor on the ground can, and some times does, aid in their own rescue. The victim must use good sense and survival knowledge to survive until help arrives. It is also very helpful to the air crew if the victim takes an active role in being found. Keeping a smoking fire going can be a big help. Saving and using a radio can help. There are so many ways the victim can help in his or her rescue. The victim can make the difference between his or her surviving or not surviving. It is a very good idea for pilots to take a survival course and a first aide course that is tailored to the needs of a person in the wilderness with an injury. Self reliance is all you have in that situation. Civil Air Patrol pilots have such training, though it can always be argued that they should have more training in that area. One search aircraft will often remain in the area of the crash site to assist the ground rescue team in locating the site. A ground team often must move across very difficult terrain to complete their job. Again, two way wireless communications is extremely important in coordinating the various parts of the mission. With out VHF FM the air and ground teams would have to use air dropped messages and signal panels to communicate. I am old enough to have operated this way and I appreciate the radio. During the entire mission the one issue that is always top priority is safety of the personnel and equipment in the mission. A slogan used is "No one was ever saved by making more victims." In the heady excitement of the moment it is easy to lose sight of the most important item of all - we should all go home after the mission to our friends and families. The ground teams are the hard workers of the CAP. They use 4x4 vehicles and almost always their feet to locate and evacuate the victims from a site. Normally a helicopter is not available unless the situation is critical with no other resolution possible. Ground team people must have first aide training and self help training and of course wilderness survival training. These folks are often ex-military or serious backpacking campers. Navigation skills are a must for these folks and those skills are used even with GPS being available. Ground teams are often used in lost person searches. In a search for a lost child an airplane may be a poor choice for moving "the searching eyes" from place to place. In this situation the feet are some times the best answer. The CAP ground teams are ready to do the job.

Mission Scenario

[Downed Flyers]

An airplane crashes in the wilderness. There are survivors, but they must be removed from the wilderness before they die.

The crash survivors must look after them selves until they are located and a rescue team arrives on the crash site.

By law, all civil and military aircraft (except scheduled airliners) carry an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) on board. The ELT begins transmitting when it is activated by the G-forces caused by the crash.

USAF Sarsat and USSR Copas satellites are continuously orbiting the earth ready to receive an emergency signal from a crashed airplane's ELT. When the satellite receives an emergency signal it begins sending information about the crash location to the USAF or USSR air force search and rescue headquarters.

[Sarsat]

The rescue satellites can only receive signals with in a limited radius of their orbits. This implies that several hours may pass before an exact position can be determined.

This part of the process will take at least 2 hours. Often 4 or more hours of effort are required at this point.

The information from the satellite(s) is received in the Search And Rescue Headquarters located on Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, USA. A computer system in the Headquarters is used to compute the approximate location of the ELT.

When the computer has determined that a real emergency signal, and not just a test signal, is present the USAF team will begin to research the possible sources of the signal. Ships, boats, hunters and backpackers all carry emergency radios that transmit on the same 121.5 MHz frequency as airplanes. They also modulate their signal with a similar varying audio frequency tone.

[USAF SAR Center]

At this point in the process inquiries are made by the USAF team to FAA offices and to others to determine, if possible, what airplane, ship or person is missing and presumed to be in danger.

The officer on duty will review the information that has been gathered by his team and decide if a mission is warranted and what resources are appropriate for the mission. He will begin the mission by activating a coordinating agency in the geographical area of the emergency.

One of the resources available is the Civil Air Patrol. Civil Air Patrol (CAP) personnel are trained to control a Search And Rescue mission as well as just participate in a mission. This ability is created by completing training courses taught by both CAP and USAF personnel. The abilities to perform SAR duties are also enhanced through practice at both the local and state level.

There are over 10,000 CAP personnel prepared to support a USAF mission. Operations are conducted in all US of A states. And they do this at very little cost to the US government,. They use personally owned cars, trucks, airplanes and other equipment to conduct the vari ous USAF authorized missions. The CAP Corporation owns a few aircraft and ground vehicles, but the vast resources come from the dedicated members.

[CAP guys at map]

At this point in the process a CAP Search And Rescue team is formed and the actual search mission begins. The first actions are to gather information and conduct planning. Safety of the participants is the top priority of all involved in the mission. The CAP Mission Coordinator decides what resources are needed and authorizes and directs their safe deployment.

Before a victim can be rescued he or she must be located. The fastest way to move "the eyes that must see the victim" is by airplane. With an airplane the search crew can go anywhere and see all that is to be seen, and do so quickly. If the satellite system located the ELT accurately only one air crew may be needed to verify the location. Some times the location of the victim is in doubt, so several air crews are dispatched into individual search areas in a coordinated effort to locate the victim before he or she dies.

[Airplane taking off]

During the air search part of the process the air crew must remain vigilant during their entire flight. There have been crash sites located by an alert air crew while in transit to, or from, their assigned search area. The crash was never suspected to be in that location. Nothing can replace an alert air crew.

Communications is a large part of any mission. With out dependable two way wireless communications many additional search teams are required to achieve the required results in the small frame of time available.

Many of the aircraft are equipped with ADF, GPS and HAM/CAP FM transceivers. The search aircraft's progress is monitored though position reports by the air crew using the CAP FM transceiver. The GPS receiver can be used to navigate to the assigned search area or any other appropriate method of navigation can be used. If the ELT signal can be acquired, the ADF (VHF Automatic Direction Finder) is used to navigate the aircraft close enough to the crash site that the air crew can easily locate the site visually. When the site is located the GPS (Global Positioning System) is used to determine and electronically mark the exact crash location. The exact location obtained from the GPS makes it is easier to move rescue personnel onto the site.

[Air crew searching]

The victim/survivor on the ground can, and some times does, aid in their own rescue. The victim must use good sense and survival knowledge to survive until help arrives. It is also very helpful to the air crew if the victim takes an active role in being found. Keeping a smoking fire going can be a big help. Saving and using a radio can help. There are so many ways the victim can help in his or her rescue. The victim can make the difference between his or her surviving or not surviving.

It is a very good idea for pilots to take a survival course and a first aide course that is tailored to the needs of a person in the wilderness with an injury. Self reliance is all you have in that situation. Civil Air Patrol pilots have such training, though it can always be argued that they should have more training in that area.

[Downed flyers found]

One search aircraft will often remain in the area of the crash site to assist the ground rescue team in locating the site. A ground team often must move across very difficult terrain to complete their job.

Again, two way wireless communications is extremely important in coordinating the various parts of the mission. With out VHF FM the air and ground teams would have to use air dropped messages and signal panels to communicate. I am old enough to have operated this way and I appreciate the radio.

During the entire mission the one issue that is always top priority is safety of the personnel and equipment in the mission. A slogan used is "No one was ever saved by making more victims." In the heady excitement of the moment it is easy to lose sight of the most important item of all - we should all go home after the mission to our friends and families.

[Airplane turning]

The ground teams are the hard workers of the CAP. They use 4x4 vehicles and almost always their feet to locate and evacuate the victims from a site. Normally a helicopter is not available unless the situation is critical with no other resolution possible.

Ground team people must have first aide training and self help training and of course wilderness survival training. These folks are often ex-military or serious backpacking campers.

Navigation skills are a must for these folks and those skills are used even with GPS being available.

Ground teams are often used in lost person searches. In a search for a lost child an airplane may be a poor choice for moving "the searching eyes" from place to place. In this situation the feet are some times the best answer. The CAP ground teams are ready to do the job.

[Cadets running]


For more information click on AFRCC Logo
	United States Air Force Rescue Coordination Center Headquarters, Air Force Special Operations Command Director of Operations (Detachment 1) Langley Air Force Base, Virginia "These Things We Do, That Others May Live"
	30 Elm Street, Suite 116 Langley AFB, Virginia 23665

For more information click on CAP logo
	Maxwell Air Force Base Montgomery, Alabama.

The Future United States of Commerce News Washington DC, 20230 National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration NOAA 00-R321 CONTACT: Patricia Viets, NOAA FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (301) 457-5005 November 3, 2000 SATELLITE PROCESSING OF 121.5/243 MHz EMERGENCY BEACONS TO BE TERMINATED ON FEB. 1, 2009 The International Cospas-Sarsat Program, a program that uses a satellite constellation to relay distress alerts to search and rescue authorities, announced at its 25th Council Session that it plans to terminate satellite processing of distress signals from 121.5/243 MHz emergency beacons on Feb. 1, 2009. Mariners, aviators, and individuals using emergency beacons will need to switch to those operating at 406 MHz if they want to be detected by satellites. The termination of 121.5/243 MHz processing is planned far enough into the future to allow users adequate time for the transition to the 406 MHz beacon. The Cospas-Sarsat Program has approved a plan for the phasing out of 121.5/243 MHz satellite alerting services that address practical aspects of the phaseout. This decision is a follow-on to Cospas-Sarsat’s announcement last year that it would no longer carry 121.5/243 MHz search and rescue instruments starting in 2006 for Russian satellites and 2009 for the U.S. satellites, operated by the Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The Cospas-Sarsat Program made the decision to terminate 121.5/243 MHz satellite alerting services, in part, in response to guidance from the International Maritime Organization and the International Civil Aviation Organization. These two agencies of the United Nations are responsible for regulating the safety on international transits of ships and aircraft, respectively, and handling international standards and plans for maritime and aviation search and rescue. More than 180 nations are members of IMO and ICAO. Another major factor in the decision to stop satellite processing of 121.5/243 MHz signals is due to problems in this frequency band which inundate search and rescue authorities with false alerts, adversely impacting the effectiveness of lifesaving services. Although the 406 MHz beacons cost more, they provide search and rescue agencies with more reliable and complete information to do their job more efficiently and effectively. NOAA, along with the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is responsible for implementing the Cospas-Sarsat Program at the national level in the United States. The implication of this Cospas-Sarsat decision is that users of beacons that send distress alerts on 121.5 /243 MHz should eventually begin using beacons operating on 406 MHz if the alerts are to be detected and relayed via satellites. Meanwhile, anyone planning to buy a new distress beacon may wish to take the Cospas-Sarsat decision into account. The three types of beacons in use are: emergency locator transmitters (ELTs), used on airplanes; emergency position-indicating radio beacons (EPIRBs), used on boats; and personal locator beacons (PLBs) used by land-based persons such as hikers. This is a public domain document

Updated: 06/27/02 08/28/03 11/24/03 01/13/04 04/01/04 05/30/04 05/25/05
Web Page Created By Frank C. Odell, 05/08/97
Merritt Island, Florida, USA

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