| New ELT rules just around the corner |
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The Canadian rules on ELTs are likely to change soon. While use of a 121.5 ELT is still allowed under the law, when the rules change, your plane will likely have to have a 406 ELT. In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission, which regulates the use of radio transmission, has recently announced that it will ban the use of 121.5 ELTs starting in August, 2010. There has been much debate over the last couple of years about whether the 406 ELT is the best answer for emergency alerting for private aircraft. The Canadian Owners and Pilots Association has been very active on this file, trying get Transport Canada to look at a wider range of emergency alerting alternatives. In May, 2010, the COPA reports that Transport Canada will mandate the use of a 406 ELT on most aircraft flying in Canada, including private aircraft. The regulation has not been "gazetted" in the Canada Gazette yet, which means the current 121.5 ELT rules remain in effect. However, expect the new rules to come out relatively soon. COPA says it appears that "alternate means of emergency location approved by Transport Canada" in the new regs isn't likely to include some of the new, inexpensive tracking systems on the market. The COPA website has an excellent article explaining the situation. There is also a COPA article from February 2009 that outlines some of the issues behind the requirement for 406 ELTs. If you're not a member, consider joining COPA for important information on this and many other general aviation issues. There was also some controversy around the original planned requirement that the new 406 ELTs would have to be installed by an avionics shop. There continues to be an exemption in effect that allows the work to be done by a licenced AME on private aircraft installations. Through any transition period that may be prescribed by the new regulations, pilots flying in the arctic regions of Canada will need to think very carefully before flying with just a 121.5 ELT. Only using a 121.5 ELT means no method of automatically alerting authorities if you get into trouble, other than hoping another aircraft is listening on 121.5. We've seen some pilots using satellite flight tracking services, and devices like SPOT, in addition to at least a 121.5 ELT.Here's the list of Canadian certified 406 ELTS
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| Last Updated on Monday, 21 June 2010 18:40 |
If you're flying north of 50 degrees in Canada, or anywhere for that matter, this is a reminder that COPAS/SARSAT no longer monitors 121.5. So if you don't have a ELT operating on 406 mHz, you don't have a means of automatically notifying the authorities if your plane goes down.