>We lost a friend this way 10 years ago after a North Sea ditching. He
did
have an automatic ELT on his life jacket but it was upside down and the
signal wasn't radiating. It took 15 hours to find him.<
An ELT does need holding vertically with the aerial clear of the sea. It
is still a better bet than an ELT inside an aircraft which might sink.
In my opinion electronic location aids are the only hope unless you are
very lucky with precise position reporting before ditching combined with
smooth sea conditions.
Nigel Charles
|