Why Cheapskate Pilots Don't Like 406 ELTs

In this AVweb video, Paul Bertorelli takes a hard look at 406 MHz emergency locator transmitters for aircraft. While an ELT of some kind is required for most aircraft, historically, these devices haven't performed very well. They still aren't an impressive value for the money.
Additional information and links:
Registration site for 406 beacons: beaconregistration.noaa.gov/R...
NASA ELT study: ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20170...
Summary of five year ELT accident sweep between 2013 and 2017 in which NTSB reports keyworded ELT:
81 total accidents
29 percent aided in crash location
65 percent did not aid or did not activate
6 percent were unknown

[@circuitmonkey6653]

As young, enthusiastic student pilot and A&P apprentice, I routinely changed those battery packs (under supervision from an IA of course) confident that I was ensuring the safety of potential crew and passengers of GA aircraft. As an older, less enthusiastic out of shape plain old citizen, I joined the hunt for an ELT beacon that had been triggered about forty minutes way. Jumped in my minivan and showed up to help a handful of others look for wreckage of the Cessna 182 that must have gone down in the woods at night in the late fall. Temps were around 40° and raining. The Guard was trying to contact the registered owner and no air support was available. For 2 hours, we combed the woods looking for the smallest hint of a wreck. Then, we were alerted by a Sheriffs deputy that the beacon had been located. In the back of UPS truck a half mile north on the Ohio Turnpike were UPS parks their doubles for relay. Someone shipped the locator with the batteries in......

[@rkan2]

Naturally

[@markfreedman2470]

Circuit Monkey : I fortunate they found the downed UPS truck

[@scottfranco1962]

@@markfreedman2470 The UPS guy needed rescuing. They all do. Just ask them.

[@wesleyhurd3574]

That is a clue as to the g-forces experienced by a package when handled by UPS. LOL

[@rkan2]

@@wesleyhurd3574 Or in actuality... just a stupid semiconductorless device..

[@Hopeless_and_Forlorn]

And you think somebody is listening.... In the early 1980s, I was an avionics tech for the old Frontier Airlines in Denver. The CV-580s in the fleet carried ELTs because they often flew routes VFR to uncontrolled airports. One day I was preparing to test an ELT installation by activation. As the hour approached, I called ground control on 121.9 and advised them that they would hear three sweeps. The ELT was quite loud as I monitored it on VHF #2 and then turned it off. I contacted ground again to tell them I was done--they had heard nothing in the tower. I repeated the test, still nothing. Turns out their guard frequency receiver was inoperable.

[@colinwallace5286]

Oops... guess that’s a very unwelcome variation of “no news is good news”? Want to bet that little gem resides in a checklist somewhere that always has checkmarks next to everything?😏

[@DavefromCA2023]

Wow! I come to KZbin for the videos but stay for the comments

[@roysmith5902]

My own ELT story happened a bunch of years ago when I was prepping for my CFI ride. I was practicing cross-control stalls when I discovered that if you abuse a PA-28 hard enough, it is possible to make it do something exciting. Bounced my flight bag off the cabin ceiling. Completed the flight, put the plane away, and went home. Came back a couple of days later for my next flight and during the preflight, discovered the ELT laying on the baggage compartment floor. Apparently I had bounced that along with my flight bag. Turned on my handheld VHF and sure enough, it was screaming. Turned it off, put it back in its holder, and went flying. But, the moral of the story is that the ELT had been going off for 2-3 days on the ramp of a busy Class D airport with scheduled airline traffic. Beats me how nobody tracked it down and gave the flying club a call.

[@dadasaurusrex5461]

Probably had a bunch of Civil Air Patrol guys out there looking for it bouncing it's signal off of the steel hangar :D

[@somerandomnification]

When I worked on a rescue boat we used to track distress signals using a directional antenna. It worked great when we were trying to find a boat that was all on its own in the middle of nowhere, but trying to figure out which boat in a marina was the one sending a false distress signal was near impossible. I think in your case it is likely that someone tried to find your beacon and when they found that it was being emitted from an airfield they dismissed it as a false signal. I also used to work in the radio tower that ran communications for the rescue fleet and I was the guy who had to keep listening to the false alarm because we had to continue to monitor the frequency even though it was being jammed by an inadvertent transmission. I tried to think charitable thoughts, knowing that it was just an innocent mistake. :)

[@dadasaurusrex5461]

@dothemathright 1111 Unfortunately for CAP members they can't just call it a day when an ELT is active. They are directed by AFRCC to find it. It's easy enough to either use a handheld radio with a short antenna or the LPER with no antenna and body block to find a signal among hangars.

[@onenerdarmy]

@@dadasaurusrex5461 pfft I used to be that guy - I can isolate which hangar it is in 5-10 seconds. Loop antennas rule.

[@dadasaurusrex5461]

@@onenerdarmy That and a radio is definitely better than trying to use an L-PER. I stay in the air and use the 406 Becker. I never was too good at ground team but I can fly those angles and get the ground team on target like a champ.

[@blancolirio]

Finding lost congressmen since 1973....Great Stuff Paul! Cheap pilot tip (true story)- fill your kit bag with all your burnt out light bulbs from home, and replace them with good ones at the layover hotel!!! ;-) Juan

[@AVweb]

That out cheaps me.

[@roderickcampbell2105]

@@AVweb You pilots need to be paid more money. Would that help? Probably not. But great information, stories and humour. Thank you.

[@user-tg6bc8qr6y]

lol

[@craigj6277]

I knew a guy when the tires wore out on his car, he’d rent one just like his and swap them out. Then return the car rental with his old tires on it. Come to think about it, he was a pilot also!

[@martinda7446]

Now...How do we get the en-suite bathroom out the window?

[@PilotPlater]

Speaking of the ELT not activating at all, this points out if you have a remote activation switch on the panel it's good to activate it on the way down if able in an engine failure scenario etc

[@rossoliver8412]

Andy Plater same with the PLB, mine is always within reach and I will activate on the way down, don’t wait until after the landing. Still need to replace those batteries though.

[@spyrosg3172]

Aviate, Navigate, ELTate.

[@mitchellroberts7954]

Forgive me for forgetting, but I thought they just had a test toggle and an arm toggle, with the arm meaning its enabled but not "on." How can I manually activate the ELT in case of an emergency when I can't make the field?

[@PilotPlater]

@@mitchellroberts7954 most of the remote switches are up for on and down for test/reset, but should be labeled on the unit, otherwise reference manual for that specific model

[@busteraycan]

@@mitchellroberts7954 The plane I train in has 3 positions on the switch "on" "arm" and "test"

[@twest344]

In the operating room, a device used during any laparoscopic procedure is the "laparoscopic suction/irrigation device". They typically are used for about 5 minutes total during a typical 1-2 hour operation. Then they are thrown away. Inside, there are (I think) 12 perfectly good AA alkaline batteries. During residency, we would always crack them open to extract the precious, almost brand new name-brand (either Duracell or energizer) AA cells. Many doctors are cheap bastards too!

[@SOS-School_Of_Survival]

I do the same thing w our batteries. All sorts of Stryker shit has inckuded Duracell dub As

[@justanotheremdoc]

will keep that in mind when i do my residency hahaha!

[@GeorgeSemel]

Nice to know when I shell out 100 bucks for five minutes when I have to go see the doc and not for my annual FAA Medical. that is $125!

[@64wing]

Sounds like a mini black market waiting to happen. Of course, the cheapest pilot bastards are doctors anyway 😈

[@64wing]

@Blanik L-13 growing up in the 90s, the last bastion of cool and somewhat dangerous toys, the phrase "batteries not included" still echos in my mind as an ultimate fun killer

[@LightAndSportyGuy]

Imagine my surprise at annual time when I pull out the ELT and find that it had not been re-armed after being re-installed the last time. Add that to your list of failure modes.

[@jmryd9030]

Haha. Thats exactly what i found after the annual was done on my plane on week ago. I was going over everthing with a fine tooth comb before flying and found it not activated.

[@StephaneDemers]

As a former SAR pilot, RCC Controller and Searchmaster I totally agree. Carry a 406 beacon and with the data from your cell phone, ADS-B, and flight tracking device, SAR unit will find you fast.

[@MikeJohnson2017]

Liked just for the “don’t meow on guard” PSA

[@buckstarchaser2376]

I'm not so sure it's not a bunch of lost souls in desperate need of rescue. They are clearly saying "Ni Hao" into whatever radio they can find, but noone takes them seriously. Just imagine if Leeloo had just dropped into Korben Dallas' flying taxicab and started saying "Meow Meow"... That wouldn't work out very well for her at all really. It wouldn't make any sense whatsoever. That's why it's actually people saying "hello" in Chinese, and probably some other things, but since "Ni Hao" sounds like a noise that has a meaning, that's the one that's remembered.

[@DRoar999]

Most important data learned on this video: Paul listens to RAGE in his hangar.

[@nitehawk86]

Could you say he is raging against the machine of 406 ELTs?

[@SethBergile]

And Limp Bizkit

[@Qrail]

7 of 9. Hahaha! Paul wins the internet.

[@superb5218]

Not even planning to become a pilot but i'm glad I watched through the whole thing to see that funny bit

[@buckstarchaser2376]

That's because he was killing his old battery pack in the name of saving money.

[@lancehymers4674]

Fascinating video! I did a number of SAR missions back when I was in the reserves in the late 70s. All had ELTs and we never heard any of them. I’ve spent a lot of time flying aircraft with ELTs and never thought much about the statistical likelihood of them being useful in a crash - you just assume that they’ll work as advertised. Now, as a guy who can’t pass the flight medical anymore, I have a sailboat that I often single-hand, and I always wear an ACR PLB clipped to my PFD (which I always wear). I have a horror of somehow falling overboard when the boat is on autopilot and watching it sail away from me over the horizon. That’s a big lonely place to be when you’re a dot in the water. My ACR has never activated by accident despite lots of banging into things while moving around the boat, and is small enough not to be a nuisance. If I could still fly, I’d have one in my aircraft. Thanks Paul!

[@mytech6779]

It seems like the old method of hitching yourself to the boat with a light line would have better results. Why float in the ocean for days hoping for rescue when you can just pull yourself back onboard?

[@dougsundseth6904]

@@mytech6779 A rather dismaying number of years ago, I was out sailing off the coast of Oahu with a friend on his Hobie Cat. I was out on the trapeze (which is to say, "attached to the boat with a ... line") playing the part of live ballast one moment and surfacing after a rather surprising impromptu bath the next. The line (to be fair, a steel cable rather than a "light line") had parted at the shackle, dropping me into the Pacific. It was easy enough for my friend to come back and pick me up, and of course on that boat had I been alone, the boat probably would have dumped over almost immediately. Nonetheless, I don't see anything wrong with carrying a PLB in that situation.

[@lancehymers4674]

I do clip in with a harness anytime I’m sailing in anything nasty or the waves start getting “exciting”, but it’s a massive nuisance to use all the time, especially in fair weather, and I suspect that 90% of sailors don’t use them except for foul weather, but it’s more the totally unexpected slip on a smooth pleasant day that I think is most likely to get you. I’m always cautious, but accidents happen. (I vividly remember shooting circuits in a Cessna 150 back in 1977 and they told the student- who had soloed the day before - to overshoot. He replied, poured power to it and started to climb, and forgot to move to avoid overflying us. You guessed it, we’re climbing out and a shadow passes over our aircraft - we lean forward and there’s another 150 about ten feet above us, about five seconds from collision. We dove violently away - enough to pin our flight bags to the ceiling - and managed to stay alive.). I was a prudent pilot and later flying instructor and CFI, and I’m careful when sailing, but sometimes the fickle finger of fate reaches out and taps you on the shoulder. There have also been some nasty sailing accidents in the last few years where people going over get dragged to their death - one of the reasons I use a short harness, and why it’s such a pain in the ass to use. Cheers, Lance

[@darrellhay]

Malcolm, fly LSA!

[@driftertank]

The ELT is like the "mom hatch" (escape trunk) on a submarine; it's for you to point at and say, "see, mom? If theres an accident, this will save me."

[@songjunejohnlee2113]

So true and so funny. In this case the congress hatch. Come to think of it there are so many mom hatches out there

[@jamesdoerr4318]

Paul I want to take a moment to tell you what a great presenter you are. Some of your videos are extremely eye opening. This was one of them. I never fail to learn something. Keep up the good work it is much appreciated not only by me with thousands of other pilots of that I am convinced.

[@AVweb]

Thanks for the kind words.

[@email4664]

@@AVweb I enjoy the critiques given, but the alternatives offered are really where folks will be saved, not only in the wallet.

[@chriso847]

Great info. My favorite part was the quick 7 of 9 pop up pic. Thanks for sticking her in there. Made me laugh. 🤪

[@collateralpigeon2151]

Thanks for including the use of an L-PER in the picture at 3:51. I was on the SAR team when I was in Civil Air Patrol and we responded to an accidental ELT activation at least once a month. In a rural environment they aren't bad to find, however, when one goes off in a hangar/ around buildings/ or in an urban environment they are hell to find. The signal reflects all over the place and they were an absolute nightmare to locate in a large hangar with several plane. Pilots had to be called to check their aircraft and there were some cases where we just plain could not locate the one that was pinging. On the funnier side we were called out to respond to an ELT (non 406) at a small local airport only to get there and find that the damn thing was moving. Turns out a student pilot practicing touch and go's hit one a little too hard and was still flying the pattern. Thank you for the CAP shoutout. A lot of people dont know what they are and its a great program for teens. Virtually all of my friends from CAP ended up in the military or aviation, myself included.

[@michaelmccarthy4615]

You're not that cheap.... You have a Fluke DMM for battery testing

[@rkan2]

Hahhahahahaha :D This so much

[@rkan2]

@John Trolinger Yes, but you don't need more than a 5-10$ one to test your aa batteries :D

[@flintdavis2]

rkan2 guess that’s not the only thing he uses it for.

[@generic_programmer]

It's very common that these kind of tests require the tester to use a device listed in the test specifications, usually more expensive, accurate devices.

[@rkan2]

@@generic_programmer Though as he specified in this video, you're not allowed to do anything but what the manual for the device says (replace the whole pack of batteries)... He likely wouldn't be allowed to to maintenance to his own plane either, since he isn't a mechanic.

[@tstanley01]

ya know, those 406 ELTs usually have an indicator light and an on button in the cabin. If you know you are about to have to make a forced landing, you can activate it before you are even on the ground. I don't ever seen them in the engine out check list, but it sounds like a good idea.

[@F1fan007]

Great video!! You answered a lot of questions I’ve always had. It’s encouraging to know that at least the ADSB data is a great starting point in a rescue if all else fails. And keeping a PLB on your person is another great idea

[@Richborg44]

Thank you for mentioning the Civil Air Patrol. We are all volunteers and love what we do helping others.

[@tonyrosa9885]

Great information as usual Mr Bertorelli. Your dry humor is unmatched. Keep the vids coming.

[@roderickcampbell2105]

Agreed. Great information and wonderfully delivered.

[@paulwright7239]

OMG the video was incredible (as always) but the last minute or so was priceless. Thanks so much Paul, you are the Undisputed Champion of Cheap Pilot Bastards.

[@markharoldson1506]

I just moved, but was a CAP member in Fairbanks Alaska. Chased a few ELT signals during my time there. I got to see a beautiful Beech Staggerwing up close and get to know the owner a bit, and found a Citabra that had been torn down for it's annual in the woods outside of North Pole. The Staggerwing pilot had bumped the elt while getting out. The Citabra owner was embarrassed that we came out to find him after his ELT went off while being removed, but was thankful that folks were still listening to 121.5 and that people would come looking for him if it was going off. Seeing a GA-8 circling your private airstrip low and slow while a pickup comes up the driveway I'm sure wasn't what he expected that day. Great report, I enjoy your videos.

[@dsrgarage]

I couldn’t ask for better timing on this video. I just had to upgrade my ELT as my old one failed. In the process right now and was curious on the registration side of things. Glad you could clear it up for me!! Thanks!!

[@daffidavit]

Paul, I'm glad I'm not the only crotchety old bastard that's gown up with aviation and loved it all my life. One of the top three best things I've done. I look forward to and watch all of your videos as soon as they arrive on my desktop.

[@vwav8tr]

Great Report! Nursing an old 121.5 ELT and relying on a ACR PLB myself. Works great for Flight Instruction and in the Jeep.

[@markthompson4885]

Just in time. I am studying to be A&P right now. we just covered ELTs in class today! Nice to get your take on them.

[@skewtzzDBD]

Sir you have a very clear and compelling manner of speaking. I appreciate you not advertising any of your videos as something they aren't. With just the right amount of comedy to keep it entertaining too! Integrity is rare on youtube. Thanks a bunch!

[@GeorgeMCMLIX]

As a retired aircraft engineer (airframe) I saw and occasionally handled many ELTs during my career. This video was a brilliant insight into the history, theory and working practices of the device. Thank you 👍🏻😊

[@aalhard]

Wonderful video. Engaging and interesting. Thank you for the work in making it.

[@meritwolf219]

Ah! That was great at the end. I read obsessively, and every one of your methods for removing the batteries is prohibited in the warnings. So much fun.

[@Kromaatikse]

That's probably where he got the ideas from…

[@digitalproductions4758]

When installing/servicing industrial robots we always have to perform "battery swaps" when on site. Typically 4 or 6 name brand C's or D's that are used as position/data backups in the event of power outages etc. They've usually sat for a few months having never been tapped into a single time in a nice sealed container (the base of the robot) so us robot techs are quick to salvage these "used" batteries for our own use at home, rather than throw them away. Robotics Engineers are cheap bastards too!

[@Tom28770]

Another great segment Paul. I have a 406 ELT I had to install in my experimental to be compliant but have never registered or tested it for two reasons. First, like you I believe they add very little marginal value; and secondly, the owner’s manual is something just short of a few hundred pages...I would rather be reading the avionics manuals. But, that being said, this video has prompted me to get my ELT registered and tested in the next week before I fly again. Thanks! I may even start monitoring guard again just to help those guys who “planned their crash when someone is listening.”

[@BTf337]

Paul, the detail and thoroughness of your videos really stand out. Plus, your presentation skills and humor are off the chart. Keep up the good work, and a big THANK YOU from your fellow "cheap bastard" pilot!

[@bobisonline]

Excellent, informative video Paul. Keep up the great work!

[@Coops777]

Great work Paul. I would watch your videos even if I werent a pilot just to hear your humor

[@BStrambo]

Great video! I just assumed ELTs for the most part worked? Silly me. That's very helpful to know as I'm gonna start flying again after a 20yr hiatus.

[@joesharp5602]

Always like your video's Paul. Keep the great content coming... Joe

[@charlesbranch4120]

Thanks, Paul. My dept. wound up being given two of those 121.5 mHz detectors shown being used by those Civil Air Patrol cadets in the video. I was advised by a longtime volunteer fireman to forget that big clunky antenna mounted on the wooden beam, and just use the rubber duckie antenna from a vhf handheld radio, shielded by your body to ascertain the direction of the signal. One activation was found on a shelf at the front porch of a house where the owner's father in law had dropped it off, after it fell over on the shelf and activated. Another was found in a dumpster, where it had been discarded by the vessel owner's deckhand after replacement with a 406MHz unit. (Remove the batteries before throwing a unit in the trash.) A third was fortunately found in the back of a pickup with the life raft that was headed for the airport and a 737 flight down the coast to Seattle for its scheduled recertification and repacking. Sheesh! I forgot the fourth, but that third brought laughs when the USCG watch stander and I considered what would happen when the activated EPIRB from a fishing vessel reached 400 knots and 19,000 feet. The fourth (and more) cases bring home that the big improvement with the 406 ELT/EPIRB is the owner registration, which leads to the rescue center making a phone call to determine whether it's a false activation. The US Coast Guard called the Alaska Harbormaster's Office where the vessel's owner had registered the device, and his spouse advised that the boat had been sold to a new owner and was fishing in California. +++ Do not forget to have the new owner register the 406! Dad told me that when their C-130 blew a main tire on takeoff from An Hoa (1968-1970) they returned and landed at the USMC firebase. While waiting for a C-123 to arrive with a tire and assistance, some helicopter pilots showed up and told them their ELT was screaming through everyone's helmets. It was located in the paddle below the vertical tail with sensors in the gear bays that were to have been removed before operating in theater. so the compartment door atop the paddle tail was closed and the activation stopped, the tire was changed and they took off for home base. Once again a tire blew on takeoff and they continued on home, later finding that the compartment door had sprung open, activating and ejecting the ELT from the compartment to bury itself somewhere in the jungle, never to be heard from again. A happy ending, since the rescue center at Danang AB had the C-130 located several miles offshore on the reciprocal of the actual bearing. Yes, Paul, we figured it would be better (and cheaper) to carry a Personal Locator Beacon, since the survival equipment you're most likely to have with you after you have a landing emergency is that which you're carrying on your body. Once the airplane sinks below the water, maybe ten feet, the antenna signal is lost. Thank you from another cheap airplane (Aeronca Champ and 7/8 series fan).

[@evangreen7562]

You are one of my favorite people in aviation. I love your videos. Your dry humor is top shelf!

[@garyggarner7738]

Thanks Paul! Excellent Report as Always!!

[@michaelrivera6989]

Never fails to give good information and a chuckle 😃

[@dannysmith3293]

For those of us who have a panel mounted indicator and test switch, I would recommend that anyone forced to make an off airport landing should activate the ELT from the ELT switch on their panel. I know this isn't possible in every situation but it should be standard procedure when available.

[@Garagedwella]

Ha ha! I like how he presents videos! The humor is well thought out and keeps it light and I like how factual he is! Looking forwards to seeing more videos from him!

[@markfreedman2470]

Excellent video! Loved your attempt to save the batteries at the end.

[@bwjbrown]

I agree with the PLB approach vs. mounted. It makes sense, but very telling from the research as to the vulnerability of ELT antenna damage/disconnect. How ironic for what is likely an operating ELT at a crash site transmitting a signal to nowhere.

[@wareagle1771]

A PLB with the ability to send/receive messages in my opinion is the best solution for aviation as well as any other activity that takes you off the beaten path. In an aircraft crash, if the radio is destroyed or otherwise is INOP (likely) and the ELT doesn't work (works 1 in 3), there's not a lot of hope for a swift location and rescue. PLBs with two-way communications can not only help with locating you, but can help SAR in knowing the nature and urgency (injuries, environmental factors, etc.) of the situation. ADS-B can help in starting a search area, but there's a delay while the data is examined. A PLB is cheap insurance to summon help when it's needed. Good stuff!! Keep the videos coming!

[@PatrickJWenzel]

Hahah. Definitely my most anticipated channel and journalist on youtube.

[@kilfoylea]

I love Seven of Nine's appearance!!

[@davidrossignol778]

Always great, actionable information. I wonder if we will have an improved system in the near future...

[@chrisnelson2581]

Love the bit at end. Very funny stuff Paul

[@wootle]

Fantastic video as always and so informative.

[@jimb4090]

Bendix King had a killer solution in the KLX100 handheld GPS moving map/comm radio. The radio allowed you to record a 30 second message and then it would broadcast that message and a voice synthesized recitation of the current LAT/LON. The beauty was, assuming the radio was still working, if you were able to travel the LAT/LON changed as you hiked out and that was what was transmitted. Find the person, not the plane. I don't know of any other similar system.

[@tiperik99]

Awesome content Paul, as per usual!!

[@CarlSmithAviationBroker]

Great Vid! Thx Paul… There at the end, I couldn't help but think of Wile E. Coyote and his latest ACME gadget…

[@BlastinRope]

It took me 30 years and this man right here for me to realize that the govt agency that predicts floods is pronouned "noah"

[@gordonniessen8098]

They do have a good reason for making sure the batteries are securely attached. Sadly, they should put more of the same care into other parts. I bet most of the antenna issues are not the fault of the ELT manufacture.

[@boydgrandy5769]

When I was a kid, one of my elk hunting buddies was a fellow named Carl Brown, who held patents on small aircraft radio distress beacon designs. He was a fairly well off guy, and he built radio base and satellite equipment that we took with us to Idaho to hunt. The base station stayed at the packer/guide's ranch house, and we took the satellite stations aboard a couple of the pack string horses. Worked like a charm, with a range of at least 50 miles.

[@dennisd7292]

Amazing research ! Great job

[@richardseton7014]

Paul, thanks again for your frank and fearless advice. Great VLOG.

[@Cmoth040]

I was in the Civil Air Patrol in High School in mid-80's. While getting flight training in Dallas, Texas, it seemed like every day we'd go on a snipe hunt for somebody's ELT that went off because of a rough landing. There were pretty heavy cross winds that week and some people came bouncing in.

[@danblumel]

Great sense of humor there, especially the ending for battery reuse.

[@BrandonThomasRansom]

I fly with fixed and rotor wing Part 135 operations year round in the coastal forests of Alaska. I trust the ELT, and I also wear my PLB on my inflatable PFD. I’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

[@wccborn]

Just replaced the exact battery in mine today! Great information as always.

[@viridiscoyote7038]

The friend I fly with uses a Spot tracker. It's great peace of mind having his father able to see how far along we are at all times. Would highly recommend.

[@kimkeam2094]

If you have a 3D printer, you can easily make a new battery holder, which would enable you to change the batteries yourself. I suggest that you may find a STL file on the internet where someone has done it already. Great site and appreciate the information you provide.

[@Dougartus]

Fantastic video with data to back it up! Do luck with those AAs :)

[@TGDylan96]

Great stuff Paul!

[@controlledburst]

When active duty AF and Guard here in AK I spent plenty of time on drives to Six Mile Lake (private planes 121.5), the ramps (mil planes 282.8/243.0), et al to find an actuated beacon with a DRF. Mostly riser pulls when handling a parachute would pop the plunger (URT-33's). Begich/Boggs: I was a Air Guard volunteer HC-130 'scanner' with the 210th RQS when a plane went missing in the early/mid 90's (think it was a Navajo -lawyers?). I recall scanning while they were flying concentric circle over an ice field. The LM pointed out on a map the grid a tiny square where we were at. I looked out the scanner window, and it was as far as the eye could see. THAT's when I realized how big AK really was. And looking down in all the endless crevasses on the glacial ice, and all the nooks and crannys in the mountains and trees - bruthuh - you do NOT want to go down in the way outback of AK without a beacon, and survival gear. This state is tremendous. (And in all the dangers, it's the stinking mosquitoes I would dread the most) I may well be Begich/Boggs never found (lots of lakes in AK too)

[@mrdeeds83]

Avaition buff and overall curious person here. This was a great, real world experience from a pilot that helped me understand what all the hype was about. Personally, if a civilian is a bit on the anxious side, I would invite them to consider a 406 PLB for the reasons that you have stated. As for ELT's in planes and the 30% benefit, I would take that 30% if I would fly a lot, fly at night or head into mountainouss regions. Mounting seems to be an issue and that can be "improved" if the price is right.

[@PuppyDogPilot]

Another great one Paul!

[@rustywells8756]

The air Force knows my elt well. I have them on speed dial. Most recent false alarm was in the middle of the night in the hangar during annual inspection. tied down outside moisture gets to the little module between the elt and switch and sets it off that way. I still like having it, there's a lot of nowhere between California and Oshkosh.

[@eansugarman4675]

Great video Paul, as per usual.

[@benhuston310]

One time, I accidentally activated an elt while I was flying. Luckily, it happened in the first 5 minutes of the hour and I deactivated it.

[@EdJZatta]

Glad your back!

[@jimmiller5600]

Paul has a life-sized poster of 7 of 9 in the back of his hangar?

[@flycow69]

I always love Paul’s aviation contents as much I used to love the late 60 minutes Andy Rooney. He was always entertaining may he Rest In Peace

[@erictaylor5462]

7:00 The ELT in my dad's Cessna was set off my a windy storm. Though it didn't damage my dad's plane, the same storm destroyed or damaged several aircraft on the same ramp.

[@dc8man2]

Good video Paul Thanks.

[@mrbizi5652]

Paul. I’ve watched you for years. Great work. You research all of the accidents. Why don’t you give up and say GA is just not worth it? I want you to do a video on why you still fly. I’ve had to answer that question for myself, my family but having an expert provide feedback is useful

[@pettyfogger2305]

A couple thoughts; as a 3rd shift sheriff's sergeant in the upper midwest and scanner hobbiest, I kept my hundred dollar pocket scanner in my bag for long winter nights, etc. I ran down 3 firing ELTs BECAUSE 121.5 is scanned let but 406 MHZ gear costs lots more. I dummied up a wire loop antenna and tracked them down in our lumpy 25 X 30 mile county., 1 hard landing, 1 medflight helicopter shut down improperly and one in a guy's pickup at home getting ready to replaces the battery.

[@rs232killer]

As a search and rescue volunteer many years ago, and a pilot, I'm getting a kick out of this video. I participated in a number of searches for aircraft using their 121.5 beacons. Found at least a dozen of them crashed out in the woods or mountains. Unfortunately, of the aircraft we found using the ELT signal, none had survivors. But as a young pilot looking at the circumstances of the crashes drove home a lot of lessons they tried to teach in my training. (Get-there-itis, visually verifying fuel, carbon monoxide, etc) We had one ELT go off three times in one day. We got the call, tracked it down at a very small airport, and reset it. A few hours later, we get called out again. Did an initial DF and then drove straight to the same airport and found the same airplane, but it had been moved. Reset it, and suggested they be careful handling the aircraft. Hadn't gotten a mile down the road and started hearing it again. Went back for the third time and suggested they disable the ELT while the aircraft is on the ground until it can be checked out. The guy handling the airplane was actually angry at us for "harassing" him.

[@eda5670]

Absolutely outstanding report! Food for thought indeed.

[@DNModels]

Another great one. Thanx!

[@scottfranco1962]

Follow up: based on this, I got a portable PLB. I keep it in the aircraft. In addition, if you watch U-tubby, you know that people delight in finding airplanes by ADS-B tracks. The 121.5 ELT stays in my plane...

[@offrails]

If you want to increase your chance of rescue, file a flight plan, use flight following, and/or tell someone where you plan to go and when you expect to arrive. That way if you do go down, rescuers will know to look for you. I have two ELT related experiences from Civil Air Patrol missions (though I can't go into too much detail due to OPSEC). For the first, a plane had come down, and the only reason we knew about it was that it had not arrived at its destination. Once the plane was located, we discovered that the ELT had not even been turned on. For the second, we traced the ELT to a fully intact Cherokee parked at a small rural airport. A lot of other stories have been told through CAP - a team once chased a "moving target" ELT from a plane on the back of a truck rolling down the interstate and another was supposedly found displayed as a decoration at a restaurant.

[@MichaelVernonDavis]

Especially important when it comes to testing batteries is using a load resistor in series to ensure you read the true usable voltage. Otherwise, they may appear to have plenty of voltage while testing, but may not when installed.

[@notpoliticallycorrect]

Excellent material!

[@XPLAlN]

In the UK you can ask for a training fix on guard and you will get an immediate response from the D & D Cell based on auto triangulation (radar contact not required). Probably every military and private student has ‘practiced’ this procedure during a navigation exercise. There are enough listening stations linked in the network that a response is virtually guaranteed unless you are really down in the weeds.

[@MidnightMechanic]

Rule of thumb, just be extra cautious and bring a GPS activated phone, satellite calling if possible. There's more than just one way to keep a beacon active on you or the plane. Safety should never be skimped on.

[@Pip2andahalf]

Yeah I like the idea of a Garmin InReach in addition to the phone

[@gazzpazzer]

Great info. Thanks.

[@skygraff]

This would be great to share with CAP cadets if not for your humorous personal descriptor. Really good stuff!

[@markthibault8579]

A GPS-enabled 406mhz ELT (or PLB) that has been activated in the air before the crash might result in a few good pings on the COSPAS-SARSAT system. The key is remembering to turn it on when things are going badly in the cockpit...

[@bbrut3332]

Excellent review of ELT good and bad points.

[@daveaver2804]

That was fantastic. Great job

[@moodberry]

I really liked your excellent analysis. But correct me if I'm wrong. Don't 406 ELTs also transmit on 121.5? This feature seems like the best of both worlds.

[@slehar]

That was EXCELLENT!!!! Old story that needs re-telling as a warning for what happens when politicians mess around with technical fields like aviation. Your old ELT SHOULD-ought to make you FEEEEEL safer. Does it? Mission accomplished! Politician saves the day again!

[@scarybaldguy]

"And if you're one of those children who thinks it's amusing to meow on guard, stop doing that RIGHT MEOW." Damn, Paul, how did you let that opportunity get away?

[@tomgooch1422]

Very interesting...and funny! I laughed more at the last fifty seconds of this than anything else on the web in the past month. Thank you. BTW, how far does the typical downed aircraft manage to crawl after impact? I assume that's the reason for cramming all that battery power in the pack versus a single, strong code train pulse with all the relevant info on impact. Can I assume that, if there's no impact trigger event, there's likely someone around capable of triggering it manually before the downed plane begins to wander off?

[@Kromaatikse]

Even in a non-survivable accident, locating the wreck quickly helps to conserve SAR resources, hundreds of man-hours might otherwise be spent combing a very large probable region of flight. Consider both the Hawthorne 708 crash back in the 1960s, where the crash occurred in February but the wreck wasn't found until August, and the MH370 ongoing mystery - though the latter involved an apparently deliberate deactivation of the aircraft's installed tracking features. Just knowing roughly where to look is already a big help in such cases; Hawthorne 708 was found well away from its authorised route.

[@michaelbusch3809]

I love the battery extraction at the end.

[@thomascochran3641]

As usual, good information!