Aero-Tips!
A good pilot is always learning -- how many times have you heard
this old standard throughout your flying career? There is no truer
statement in all of flying (well, with the possible exception of
"there are no old, bold pilots.")
Aero-News has called upon the expertise of Thomas P. Turner,
master CFI and all-around-good-guy, to bring our readers -- and us
-- daily tips to improve our skills as aviators. Some of them, you
may have heard before... but for each of us, there will also be
something we might never have considered before, or something that
didn't "stick" the way it should have the first time we memorized
it for the practical test.
Look for our daily Aero-Tips segments, coming each day to you
through the Aero-News Network.
Aero-Tips 09.01.06
I hate feeling like I'm behind schedule. But sometimes it just
happens. A little tardiness is okay sometimes, but when an airplane
goes from being "tardy" to being overdue, it's time for Search And
Rescue (SAR) to kick in.
Calling SAR
Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCCs) and Flight Service
Stations (FSSs) will alert search and rescue forces if they feel a
flight is overdue or missing. Trigger events for SAR include:
- Unexpected loss of radio and radar contact by ARTCC. This
includes IFR airplanes and "participating" VFR airplanes (those
receiving VFR Flight Following).
- A filed VFR flight plan that is not closed by the pilot within
30 minutes of the filed or amended Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA).
Note: Don't forget to close your VFR flight plan
after landing, to avoid inadvertently causing a resources-draining
search.
- Detection of an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT)
signal.
A filed flight plan is the most timely and
effective means of ensuring SAR activation if you go overdue.
Flight plan data (route, speed, fuel available, persons on board)
provide information critical to narrowing down the search area and
responding properly to an overdue or downed aircraft.
Homeland security
You can add a little security from those at home by letting them
know when you plan to arrive, or arrange to call someone at home
after you touch down at destination. A U.S. Air Force review of 325
search and rescue missions during a 23-month period revealed that
36 hours normally pass before family concern activates a search.
This despite the National Search and Rescue Plan's assertion that
"life expectancy of an injured survivor decreases as much as 80
percent during the first 24 hours, while the chances of survival of
uninjured survivors diminishes after the first three days." The
folks at home can help improve your chances significantly if they
contact SAR.
Aero-tip of the day: Make them come looking for
you. File a flight plan and participate in ATC services; tell your
family your plans and how to contact SAR as a back-up in case you
go overdue.