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TYPESofEmergencyLocatorTransmitters (ELT)
Approved
Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELT)
used in aircraft; and
Approvedportable
EmergencyLocator Transmitters (ELT)
for use in aircraft.
Portable Locator Beacon (PLB)
for personal use by bushwalkers, four-
wheelers, other adventurers on land, employeesworking in remote areas,
crew in boats and aircrew.
EmergencyPosition IndicatingRadioBeacons (EPIRB)
normally used in
ships and boats but also used in life rafts.
ELTs
are usually fixed in the aircraft and aredesigned to activate on impact.
ELTs are required to operate continuously for 24hours once activated. Civil
AviationSafetyAuthority (CASA) regulations requiremost aircraft to carry
anELT. CASA regulations allow for portable approvedELTs or EPIRBs to be
carried inGeneral Aviation aircraft as an alternative to anELT.
Refer toCAR 252A sub regulations (5) and (6) for the technical standards.
AnapprovedportableELT
means an eligibleELT thatmeets the
requirements set out inCAR 252A sub regulation (6). These are the following
two types;
•
PLBs
which can be used in an aircraftmustmeet the standards detailed
inCAR 252A subregulation (6) They are also designed for personal use in
both the land andmarine environment. This typeof beacon is becoming
amulti-environment beacon. PLBs are required tooperate for aminimum
of 24 hours once activated. These 406MHz beacons come in twobasic
types: those that provide an encoded (GPS) location and those that do
not. The satellite system can calculate a beacon’s location, but locating
a distress site is usuallymuch faster if thebeacon signal provides aGPS
location. Refer CAR 252A subregulation (6)
•
EPIRBs
are designed to float in thewater to optimise the signal to the
satellite. AnEPIRB is required to operate for aminimumof 48hours
continuously once activated. AnEPIRB has a lanyard that is used to
secure it to something that is not going to sink so that it can float free.
If the vessel such as a life raft continues to float then theEPIRB can be
manually deployedwhere a distress situation exists.
ELTs
5 – d i s tress beacons