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5 – EMERGENCY PROCEDURES
emergency activation
Where anELT is permanently installed, and you areunable to confirm that it
has activated automatically,activate theELT in situby switching to the “on”or
“active”position.
• Where a portabledistress beacon is being used, select a site for the
activation of the beacon. If possible, the site should be elevated, clear of
trees, boulders, etc and reasonably close to the aircraft.
• Place the beacon on a flat surface and use anearthmat if available. You
may consider placing the beaconon thewingof the aircraft or other
reflectivemetal surface if there is no earthmat availableor the terrain is
inhospitable to any other option.
• If required, secure the distress beaconwith rocks, sticks, tape, etc so that
the aerial remains vertical.
• Remain clear of thebeacon. Obstacles near itmay distort the radiation
pattern.
• A beaconwhich is damaged or underwreckage can still transmit some
signal so always activate it.
• To avoid confusing direction finding equipment on search aircraft, avoid
activating two ormore beaconswithin 1nm of each other. If two ormore
beacons are available, their use should be rationalised toextend the
alerting period.
• In the event of a search, an aircraftmay drop a radio to you. Prior to
using the radiowalk away from the beacon to avoid interferenceon the
radio transmission frequency. DONOT switchoff the beaconUNLESS
instructed to do so.
AnELT of any variant, is a useful search aid should yoube forceddown and
require assistance. However, to obtainmaximumbenefit from your distress
beacon and to assist the search aircraft, it is necessary toobserve a few
guidelines for activating your distress beacon.
If you are in theWATER, and your distress beacon is certified forwater
operation, the beacon should be activated IN THEWATER and allowed to
float to the end of the lanyard. DONOT attach lanyard to aircraft, but rather to
person or liferaft. Keep the distress beacon vertical with the antenna pointing
skyward.