Mission Report
Mission #07M1652
September 6, 2007
Emergency Locator Transmitter Search
Submitted by Capt Kim Kirschman

I received a call from Col Tomlinson at about 1845 tasking me with assembling an aircrew to conduct a search for an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT).  The Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC) provided two sets of coordinates from satellite hits: 41 46.4 N, 94 21.5 W and 41 47.8 N, 94 16 W.  Both sets of coordinates are about midway between the Guthrie County and Perry airports.  Des Moines squadron member 1Lt Tony Short responded to my request for assistance.  We met at the Ankeny airport, preflighted the aircraft and established a tentative search plan that would begin with a flight direct to the Perry airport and an electronic search from the area if the ELT signal was received.  Using aircraft N9516X, a Cessna 182R, and operating under the standard CAP callsign of CAP Flight 1316 (CPF1316), takeoff from Ankeny occurred at 1929.  At 1936 we were able to hear an ELT signal using a standard comm radio; at 1937 the signal was audible on the DF radio.  We made radio contact with Col Tomlinson, the IC, reporting the ELT contact.  The DF was not providing direction information, so we used the wing null method to establish an approximate bearing to the ELT.  The ELT signal became stronger as we continued flying toward the Perry area, but directional indications from the DF radio were still vague or nonexistent.  We decided to land at the Perry airport and remove an antenna that had been temporarily mounted on the right main gear strut on the off chance the antenna was interferring with the DF antenna installation.  While on the ground, the ELT signal was barely audible, which we took as an indication that the ELT was not in the immediate confines of the airport.

Following removal of the antenna, we took off to make another attempt at tracking the ELT.  We did begin to receive more 'normal' DF guidance, and after several maneuvers designed to narrow the search area we became reasonbly sure the signal was coming from a location about two miles north of the Perry airport.  By this time, about 2030,  a ground team in Iowa CAP 606 (Lt Norma Newton and Lt Roland Newton) had reached Perry, so we led them to the suspect area.  It was fully dark, so we used rather non-standard language to guide the ground team through the countryside.  The ground team was able to receive the ELT signal as they entered the suspect area, and determined through triangulation that the signal was probably coming from a landfill site.  We again landed at the Perry airport with the intent of being picked up by 606 and assisting with the ground search.  Unfortunately, significant convective weather was moving into the area, so at 2115 we headed back to Ankeny, landing before the rain hit but getting wet before the plane was hangared.

Col Tomlinson successfully called out support from the Dallas and Greene County sherrif's offices and the landfill operator.  The ELT turned up in the first bucket load turned over by a skid loader.  The ELT was shut off at 2151.

Total flight time for the mission was 1.9 hours.

Lessons of note:

1.    The initially poor performance of the DF radio was unexpected; it was a fortuitous guess that the temporary antenna was causing a problem;

2.    The ground team responded quickly and effectively;

3.    Darkness made the task of leading the ground team to the suspect area difficult, but by using radio communications liberally the ground team arrived without delay.  Aircraft and ground vehicle radios worked fine; comm problems would have greatly complicated the task of leading the ground team;

4.    The haze and accompanying poor visibility made it difficult to observe the approaching storms.  We used Col Tomlinson, who had access to weather radar via the internet, to provide updates;

5.    The initial poor performance of the DF radio and the unusual location of the suspect area caused some early uncertainty about whether the ELT was actually in the area as indicated by the signals.  We therefore spent extra time flying multiple directions and patterns to satisfy ourselves about the probable location of the ELT before leading the ground team to the area.