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FAASTeam Notice
Type: General Information
Notice Date: Wednesday, March 24, 2021
Notice Number: NOTC1747
When to activate the ELT after the engine goes silent
This notice expired on
Sunday, July 24, 2022

All pilots should be thoroughly familiar with the operation of their aircraft’s ELT, whether it’s the analog 121.5 and 243 MHz models, or the newer 406 MHz digital ELTs. This familiarization should include knowing how and when to manually activate an ELT during an inflight emergency. We asked Larry Bothe, Master & Gold Seal FAA Certified Flight Instructor and seminar presenter at EAA’s Air Venture, to share some insight on this important subject:

I think of early ELT activation the same way I think of (and teach) the early declaration of an emergency. If the engine quits, or some other emergency occurs requiring an immediate off-field landing, declare an emergency and activate your ELT right away. As soon as the immediate flying tasks (pitch for best glide, set the trim, pick a place to land, and turn the airplane to go there) are done, you need to squawk 7700, declare an emergency, and activate your ELT. Don't wait until you have gone through your other checklist items and then call at the end. By that time, you may well be too low to call (line-of-sight), and down in the ground clutter, out of sight of radar. The idea is, that since in reality you probably won't make a perfect textbook emergency landing, you need to get help on the way to take you to the hospital and tend to your injuries. If you don't summon help while you can, you may survive the crash, only to die of exposure in the wreckage because nobody knows you are there.


That’s why I recommend manually activating an ELT while still in flight. If you rely on the crash to set it off, and you are injured, how will you know if it activated or not? You want to be found, RIGHT AWAY! If you have remote activation capability, turn the darn thing on when you are squawking 7700 and declaring the emergency. Let people know you are in trouble. Make yourself easy to find and be rescued, for sure. All the modern 406 ELTs have panel mounted remote switches. Just push the button.

What if you manage to "fix" the emergency (belatedly figured out that the fuel selector was in the wrong position, and the engine really will run), or end up landing without damage or injury? You have already summoned all these people via radio and ELT. Simple. If still in the air, use that same radio you used to declare the emergency to call it off. I did that once with Memphis Center, and they were happy it worked out OK. I didn't hear a word from the FAA later.  If you are on the ground, cancel the false alert by calling the U.S. Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at 1-800-851-3051.

The whole idea here is to get help coming so you and your passengers can be rescued, really fast. One of the ways to do that is to manually activate your ELT early. It's also important to register your 406 MHz ELT with NOAA so they know who the device belongs to and who to call if it’s activated.  Here is the website for more information and to register: https://www.sarsat.noaa.gov/beacon.html

For more information on ELTs see:

The Airman’s Information Manual (AIM)

https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/aim_html/chap6_section_2.html

Why should I buy a 406 MHz ELT? (FAA Safety Briefing magazine November/December 2010 p. 23)

https://www.faa.gov/news/safety_briefing/2010/media/novdec2010.pdf