MainlySteam
New member
Can forum members tell me what the current policy in their own country is with respect to responding to 121.5Mhz EPIRB alerts (not 406Mhz ones) when there is no other independant alert received eg by radio?
I know what SARSAT's own views are and also about the impending discontinuation of support for the 121.5Mhz system, but am interested in how SAR authorities various countries themselves currently respond to a 121.5Mhz first-alert (ie with no independant verification, such as by radio).
For the sake of openness, I should say that there was a recent accident here in which 3 out of 5 on board drowned approx 11 miles offshore approx 100 miles from nearest SAR helicopter base in a 6m pleasure vessel fishing in seas big enough to swamp the boat when its engine was disabled. Winter here and the sea temperature was around 11-12C. They were located, all but one without lifejackets, and the last survivor was in the helicopter within 3 hours of the 121.5Mhz alert. The survivors believe that they should have been rescued within an hour and there is widespread public support of that.
There are no prosecutions involved and I am not personally involved - out of the loss I have just become interested in what current practice is elsewhere.
Thanks
John
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I know what SARSAT's own views are and also about the impending discontinuation of support for the 121.5Mhz system, but am interested in how SAR authorities various countries themselves currently respond to a 121.5Mhz first-alert (ie with no independant verification, such as by radio).
For the sake of openness, I should say that there was a recent accident here in which 3 out of 5 on board drowned approx 11 miles offshore approx 100 miles from nearest SAR helicopter base in a 6m pleasure vessel fishing in seas big enough to swamp the boat when its engine was disabled. Winter here and the sea temperature was around 11-12C. They were located, all but one without lifejackets, and the last survivor was in the helicopter within 3 hours of the 121.5Mhz alert. The survivors believe that they should have been rescued within an hour and there is widespread public support of that.
There are no prosecutions involved and I am not personally involved - out of the loss I have just become interested in what current practice is elsewhere.
Thanks
John
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