Category: System Overview

Reed activated his personal locator beacon (PLB), on February 8th in the Akatarawa Forest Park near Wellington after breaking several bones in his right leg.

 https://www.miragenews.com/it-could-be-difference-between-life-and-death-1056440/

RIYADH: The Saudi Center for Search and Rescue has been accredited as an international facility for receiving and processing distress signal data.

It obtained accreditation after successfully passing tests conducted by the Spanish center that oversees the south-central information distribution region, under the supervision of Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation.

The tests evaluated the center’s ability to receive and process distress signal data from various devices used by aircraft, ships and individuals.

The signals are monitored through the low Earth orbit, geostationary orbit and medium Earth orbit satellite systems.

The center recently upgraded its technologies to receive and process distress signals more quickly and with higher accuracy in pinpointing their location.

The Saudi center now meets the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization. 

Link to article:  https://www.arabnews.com/node/2347251/saudi-arabia

To reduce the frequency of accidental ELT activations and unnecessary deployment of SAR service, ICAO/Airworthiness Panel (AIRP)/6 has developed Guidance for States, Operators and Maintenance providers to prevent inadvertent activation when handling and maintaining Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELTs).

This document is available on ICAO website at https://www.icao.int/safety/OPS/OPS-Normal/Pages/Guidance_ELTs.aspx

Link magazine is published quarterly by the New Zealand SAR Secretariat for the search and rescue sector. NZSAR Link magazines from 2007 – present are available free-of-charge at https://www.nzsar.govt.nz/about-us-2/linkmagazine/.

Subscriptions to the digital edition are available online at the same URL. For subscriptions to the print edition, please send your name, organisation and postal address to info@nzsar.govt.nz.

The March 2023 edition might be of particular interest to Cospas-Sarsat participants, with articles addressing:

• User attitudes and beacon usage research: When are beacons carried and reasons why they are not, and
• How long does it take to rescue a tramper with a beacon?

The Russian Federation successfully launched on 27 June from the Vostochny Cosmodrome the Meteor-M No.2-3 satellite carrying a Cospas search-and-rescue (SAR) payload. The satellite will be in a sun-synchronous low-altitude Earth orbit (LEO), with the SAR payload designated as Cospas-15. The launch was the first use of a new version of the Fregat-M second stage of the launch vehicle. Nominally, six months are allocated to spacecraft on-orbit testing and it is specified to have a minimum five-year lifetime.

Police praised the woman for being well prepared for the conditions.

She injured her ankle and set off her 406 PLB at around 5:30 pm on Sunday.

“She registered her walk and added the details about her intended plans to her personal locator beacon registration, which helped us as emergency services to coordinate a response.”

Police have reminded bushwalkers of safety tips:

• Carry appropriate equipment, clothing, footwear, food and water, and a first aid kit
• Research the intended trip and ensure it is within your abilities and fitness level
• Check the expected weather forecast, and have a plan
• Ensure someone knows your route and expected return time
• Carry a fully charged mobile phone and a PLB and consider a portable charger to extend battery life

Read more here:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-19/injured-bushwalker-rescued-at-cradle-mountain-overland-track/102497242

Please click to access the:

Summary of FMCC activity – April 2023

Please click to access the:

Summary of FMCC activity – March 2023

Please click to access the:

Summary of FMCC activity – February 2023

Cospas-Sarsat is pleased to acknowledge 406 Day, which is very special this year as we celebrate the 40^th anniversary of the first “save”. In September 1982, a young pilot was rescued after a crash that occurred in the mountains of northern Canada and our history began. Since that fateful day, almost 60,000 lives have been saved with use of the Cospas-Sarsat System, in almost 18,000 SAR events. On average, our System currently assists in saving nearly 10 lives every day of the year!