Mission Report
Mission #04M1005
May 19, 2004
Missing Aircraft Search
Submitted by Capt. Kim Kirschman

Wednesday morning at about 0115 local time I received a call from Col Tomlinson, wing commander, requesting that I assemble a crew for a missing-aircraft mission.  Lt Tony Short and Lt Col Don Cox responded to my calls and were soon enroute to the Ankeny airport.  By 0210, the search aircraft, CPF 1376, was preflighted, a weather briefing obtained and instrument flight plan filed, and the crew briefed on the mission.  According to the information provided by Col Tomlinson, we were to search for an Emergency Locator Transmitter signal on a route stretching from Hampton, Iowa (HPT) to Green Bay, Wisconsin (GRB).  The plan was to fly directly from Ankeny to Hampton, then fly the HPT--GRB route to the Iowa--Wisconsin border, proceeding further only if given approval while on the route.  Because visibilities in the Ankeny area at the time of departure were less than four miles and the cloud cover was broken at 700 feet with an overcast at 1600 feet, the flight was conducted under instrument flight rules rather than the more common visual flight rules.

Takeoff occurred at 0220.  The Hampton airport was crossed at approximately 0300 at an altitude of 5000 feet.  Clearance was received to search the Hampton--Green Bay route line as far as Viroqua (approximately 20 miles southeast of La Crosse).  Shortly before reaching Viroqua, we were instructed to proceed directly to Waterloo after reaching Viroqua.  As no ELT signal was received while flying from Hampton to Viroqua, upon reaching Viroqua at about 0400 we turned to a southwesterly heading with the intent of landing at Waterloo.  However, well before arriving in Waterloo we were directed to return to Ankeny.

The mission briefing information suggested that an ELT signal on 243 mhz was being received from someplace in Wisconsin, so during the entire search both 121.5 mhz and 243 mhz were monitored for signals.  At no time during the search flight were signals from an ELT detected.

Weather conditions in Ankeny had deteriorated at the time of landing, with visibilities of 1.5 miles with mist and a ceiling of 300 feet.  A standard ILS approach to runway 36 was flown.  Landing occurred at 0545.

After landing, the crew learned the missing aircraft had been located parked on the Waterloo airport.  CAP resources in Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin had been activated to engage in an unnecessary search, but such is the nature of search and rescue.  Though an extensive search of airports had been conducted prior to launching search flights, when time is of the essence it is not always possible to be certain there is truly an emergency situation prior to commitment of resources.

Notes:

1.    Definite but manageable risks existed during this mission: it was conducted during darkness, there was no moon, clouds and fog significantly reduced the availability of visual cues, and the late-night hours meant that few airports would have support services available.
2.    The aircraft radio used for CAP communications had insufficient transmitting range for this mission.  For much of the flight the crew could hear Iowa CAP ground radios but the ground units could not hear transmissions from the aircraft.  A La Crosse ground unit, Blue Mound 710, was instrumental in relaying information to and from the aircraft.  Had an emergency situation arisen, communications could have been conducted through air traffic control (ATC); since the flight was made using instrument flight rules, the crew was in constant contact with ATC facilities.  Also, landing and using cell phones could have been done with only moderate delay.
3.    Flight time totaled 3.5 hours.