Today, #406Day2021, we remind people that governments around the world have come together to locate by satellite and help rescue people anywhere from life-threatening distress. And all that is needed is for a boat owner, an aircraft owner or a remote-country explorer to purchase from any of several vendors (on-line or sporting-goods stores) any of several choices of inexpensive 406-MHz “Cospas-Sarsat” distress beacons, to be able to signal their distress. Because this is a cooperative international initiative, there are no recurring service fees. Buy the beacon (make sure that it is a “406” model), keep it with you and you have the cheapest possible insurance to call for help in a life-threatening emergency.
We also take this day as an opportunity to celebrate the national search-and-rescue SAR teams all around the world that undertake dangerous rescues in response to distress alerts.
Why “406 Day”? It is the 6th day of the 4th month, April, expressed as it might be in many countries: “406”. This is a reference to the 406-megahertz radio frequency that is monitored globally for signals from distress-alert beacons by the International Cospas-Sarsat Programme, a cooperative of 45 governments and agencies that helps save an average of seven lives a day, worldwide.