Mission Report
Mission #03M0868
May 7, 2003
Knoxville ELT
Submitted by 1Lt Kim Kirschman
I received a call from LTC Ralph Tomlinson, Iowa Wing Director of Operations, at 0028 local time. A 121.5 signal was being picked up by sarsat in the area of Osceola and Chariton, Iowa. At 0148 local time an aircrew consisting of 1Lt Kim Kirschman, mission pilot, LTC Ralph Tomlinson, observer, and 1 Lt Justin Pederson, scanner, departed the Ames airport in CPF 1365 (a CAP Cessna 172, N97465). At the same time, a ground crew departed Ames in IC 611. The ground team leader was SFO Troy Ruffin; he was accompanied by Capt John Halbrook, 2Lt Roger Elliott, and cadet Erin Lowry. Incident commander was LTC Gene Kellogg. Both crews proceeded toward Osceola.
When nearing Osceola from the north, IC 611 relayed to the crew of CPF 1365 that a new sarsat hit placed the signal at 41 09 N, 93 16 W, a spot a few miles north and slightly east of Chariton. When approximately 5 miles north of Osceola, the aircrew briefly heard an ELT signal on the DF radio; no signal was heard on the nav/com radio. The signal was not of sufficient strength to provide a DF indication. The signal soon faded, and by the time the Osceola airport was reached no signal was audible. The aircraft was then headed east toward Chariton. While approximately midway between Osceola and Chariton, the signal was reacquired briefly, but was lost before reaching Chariton. Upon reaching Chariton, the course was reversed and the crew proceeded toward Osceola. At the point midway between Chariton and Osceola the signal had not been reacquired, so a turn was made and a northerly course was flown. During the next few minutes, a weak signal was intermittently heard, but no reliable DF indications were noted. When approximately 10 miles north of the Osceola--Chariton line, a turn was made and an easterly course was flown. The signal continued to build and fade. When several miles northwest of Chariton a couple of wing-null turns were conducted in an effort to establish a better relative bearing of the signal. There was no clear-cut result, so a decision was made to continue flying an easterly course. When approximately 10 miles north of Chariton, the signal strength increased, though it continued to build and fade. With Knoxville in view, and a relatively strong aural but still ambiguous DF signal, a decision was made to proceed to Knoxville, 'just in case'. The signal strength continued to build, but the DF indications remained very erratic almost until the airport was reached. Upon reaching the immediate vicinity of the Knoxville airport the DF indications finally became relatively solid, changing dependably in accordance with the aircraft heading. A number of overflights of the airport were made and the crew became reasonably certain that the signal was being transmitted from the airport proper. IC 611, which had been kept informed of the search progress, was directed to proceed to the airport. CPF 1365 landed at 0310, taxied to the ramp area, made a couple of 360 degree turns in the middle of the hangar area, and received indications that the signal was housed in a maintenance hangar.
After shutting down the aircraft at 0315, the airport manage was contacted by phone. As he lived on the airport, it took only a few minutes for him to meet the aircrew in the FBO office. The manager stated that he had been working on an ELT the previous day, so he went to the maintenance hangar and turned the ELT off. The signal being received on the aircraft radios then ceased. Within a few minutes IC 611 arrived and the crew obtained the required information about the offending ELT and the aircraft in which it was mounted. Both air and ground crews then began the return trip to Ames. CPF 1365 landed in Ames at 0433 local
Flight time totaled 2.3 hours. A total of 7 personnel were used on the mission. Rain had fallen just prior to the mission. An overcast contributed significantly to darkening the environment, and ground features other than lights were not visible from the air. Scattered lower clouds at times obscured lighted areas, further darkening the environment and occasionally contributing misleading visual cues, making an instrument scan important even though VFR conditions prevailed and general visibility was excellent. Aircrew coordination was excellent, and radio communications with IC 611 were easily conducted.
Items of particular interest were the weather conditions, the fatigue aspects associated with the time the mission was conducted, and the very erratic aspects of the ELT signal. The ATC controllers in Des Moines reported that aircraft flying through the area were not able to detect a signal on 121.5, though the crew of CPF 1365 received a very strong and clear signal while within a few miles of the Knoxville airport. Crew members can only speculate that the signal emanating from the hangar was radiating very unevenly because of the surrounding metal structures such as buildings, fuel tanks, antennas, wires, etc.
This mission was conducted six months after the last mission tasked to the CAP members in this part of the state. A long gap indeed.