Plane with 2 aboard missing between Chilliwack and Edmonton

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youhavecontrol
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Plane with 2 aboard missing between Chilliwack and Edmonton

Post by youhavecontrol »

CBC Article:

"Plane with 2 aboard missing between Chilliwack and Edmonton, search underway"

"A search is underway for a small aircraft that was scheduled to land in Chilliwack, B.C., on Friday but failed to land.
The Joint Rescue Co-Ordination Centre said it was notified around 2 p.m. Friday that a small private aircraft with two people aboard was overdue.
The plane was inbound from Edmonton.
Crews are focusing the search on the Highway 5 corridor between Chilliwack and Valemount, B.C., however the JRCC said a low cloud ceiling in some parts of the search area has hampered efforts.
A CC-130 Hercules search plane was initially deployed on Friday, along with a CH-149 Cormorant helicopter.
The Hercules was replaced on Saturday by a CC-115 Buffalo search plane, and seven planes from the Civil Aviation Search and Rescue Association have also joined in the efforts.

https://globalnews.ca/news/4454187/miss ... -edmonton/
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YYC650
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Re: Plane with 2 aboard missing between Chilliwack and Edmonton

Post by YYC650 »

CBC update:

The military has called off its search for a small, home-built airplane that that disappeared without a trace during a flight from Edmonton, Alta., to Chilliwack, B.C. one week ago.

The military operation officially ended at 3 p.m. Thursday, the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre (JRCC) based in Victoria, B.C. confirmed in an online statement.

The search has been handed over to the RCMP as a missing persons case. Military officials said suspending the search was a difficult decision but one that followed an exhaustive search.

Over the last seven days, both military and volunteer civilian aircraft have spent about 320 hours flying in challenging weather conditions searching for the plane, its pilot and passenger.

Rescuers concentrated on a 600-kilometre-long corridor along Highway 5 between Kamloops and Valemount.

Search crews covered more than 14,000 square kilometres on mountainous terrain in the area surrounding the last known location and filed flight plan of the missing plane.

The missing plane is a white RV-6, a home-built, low-wing, single-engine aircraft that can carry two people. It was reported overdue last Friday.

CBC News has spoken with the family of the missing couple and they have asked for privacy at this time.

Military officials have declined to identify the missing pilot and passenger.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton ... -1.4832842
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MrWings
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Re: Plane with 2 aboard missing between Chilliwack and Edmonton

Post by MrWings »

So after a week you are on your own? Is that the standard?
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YBW-Kid
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Re: Plane with 2 aboard missing between Chilliwack and Edmonton

Post by YBW-Kid »

I cannot believe if you own an airplane and you fly in the mountains that you don't carry something like a 1/2 pound SPOT Personal Tracker which costs perhaps $175 and a few bucks a year for a subscription.

HOW IT WORKS:
Once activated, SPOT acquires and sends your GPS coordinates to your SPOT account and, if you choose, Shared Pages and SPOT Adventures Live Maps, automatically every 10 minutes for 24 hours or until canceled. Track Progress must be reengaged to continue beyond a 24 hour tracking session. Creating a SPOT Shared Page allows you to share your GPS route with your friends and family easily in near real time on the web through a personal link. You can make your Shared Page private or public. Your choice! Just share that URL with your friends and family and they can easily track your adventures. You can also link your SPOT Messenger to SPOT Adventures, a social portal, where you can set up a profile and blog with others sharing their SPOT Adventures. On SPOT Adventures, your Shared Pages can stream in a Live Map widget that you can use on your own personal or event sites.

When you file your flight plan you give FSS the access. If your ever overdue or even just late they just fly to the last known position on the map. Follow the bread crumbs. It may not be perfect but a heck of a lot better than checking cell towers for pings.

There is much better aviation technology systems available than a hand held. I strongly feel it should be a mandatory requirement in every aircraft operating in the Mountainous Region for this technology to be onboard the aircraft. The Regs require an ELT, a first aid kit and sometimes a survival kit. Lets just add this carry on technology to the CARS. Think about the anguish of family and friends not knowing for weeks, months or years in a long search. Perhaps a swift locate could save a critically injured passenger after the crash.

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aeroncasuperchief
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Re: Plane with 2 aboard missing between Chilliwack and Edmonton

Post by aeroncasuperchief »

There should be an "distress" position on a spot which sends out position reports every 10 seconds until cancelled Would most pilots who feel a pain in the heart or are getting lower when .. running or hear a bang in the engine have enough awareness and cool to hit a friggin switch ? even if they were "trained for many hours" ? Sadly, too many could not do this very simple thing and so we have ELT s and other technology trying to cater to the stupidest of society !
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mosky
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Re: Plane with 2 aboard missing between Chilliwack and Edmonton

Post by mosky »

I read somewhere that ELTs work in a crash somewhere less than 38% of the time. We spend somewhere over $100 a year getting them tested and recertified. I spend just over $150 a year for my SPOT tracking subscription which gets tested every time i fly by sending out nice little breadcrumbs every 10 minutes to anyone i choose. Even if i didn't pay for the premium tracking service my last known position and track would be available to SAR forces in the event I did not arrive at my destination. Why are we still using 1940s technology when something so advanced is available for peanuts to everyone? Mandated or not why would anyone choose not to have one on board especially when flying over such unforgiving terrain???? I don't get it.
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Schooner69A
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Re: Plane with 2 aboard missing between Chilliwack and Edmonton

Post by Schooner69A »

The beauty of SPOT (and the other types) is that it narrows down the search area. I've got my 'breadcrumbs' set at five minute intervals. The trail of crumbs give a track (important if I've had to deviate from the flight planned route due to weather), so even if I'm cruising at 120 knots, I may be within a ten mile radius of the last 'crumb'.


So, between cell phone 'pings', SPOT info, ELT info, and flight plan data, searchers can have a reasonable chance of finding a lost aircraft.


I used to say that if I went down south of the tree line and survived the landing, there's be no trouble finding me: just follow the firetruck because I'd have a forest fire going in no time!
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AirFrame
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Re: Plane with 2 aboard missing between Chilliwack and Edmonton

Post by AirFrame »

aeroncasuperchief wrote: Fri Sep 21, 2018 6:24 pm There should be an "distress" position on a spot which sends out position reports every 10 seconds until cancelled...
That's exactly what Spot, Inreach, etc. all do. If you hit the emergency button, it pings as fast as it can until you turn it off or the battery runs out. Spot only specifies 2.5 minute spacing on the pings, but I suspect it sends more than that and 2.5 is just what gets logged/reported on the website.
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DHC2eater
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Re: Plane with 2 aboard missing between Chilliwack and Edmonton

Post by DHC2eater »

"HOLY THREAD DRIFT BATMAN........"

"SPOT ON ROBIN......" :evil: :evil:

Yikes you guys!!!!!
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Re: Plane with 2 aboard missing between Chilliwack and Edmonton

Post by anofly »

Well 10 mins is a long time in an airplane. Sadly they musta flown over the mooney they just found a lot of times. I think maybe spot and? In this current missing case they have virtuallly no last position to work from and spot sure would have narrowed that down. In the case of the mooney, they had a pretty good last position... and flew that valley dozens of times. If the ELT had of worked it woulda helped out immensely..
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aeroncasuperchief
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Re: Plane with 2 aboard missing between Chilliwack and Edmonton

Post by aeroncasuperchief »

A signal every 10 seconds would put the search area down to a few square miles and not 100+ square miles
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cncpc
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Re: Plane with 2 aboard missing between Chilliwack and Edmonton

Post by cncpc »

anofly wrote: Sat Sep 22, 2018 5:18 pm Well 10 mins is a long time in an airplane. Sadly they musta flown over the mooney they just found a lot of times. I think maybe spot and? In this current missing case they have virtuallly no last position to work from and spot sure would have narrowed that down. In the case of the mooney, they had a pretty good last position... and flew that valley dozens of times. If the ELT had of worked it woulda helped out immensely..
The night of the Mooney accident, there was snowfall, and I think for the next day or two. In the pictures, in summer, it looks like it should have been spotted. With even six inches of snow covering the wreckage, much more difficult.

When found, the wings were attached to the fuselage and for the most part intact. It appears that there was a vertical impact on the nose, after which the wreck settled more or less upright on the forest floor. There is considerable distortion of the rear fuselage and the last few feet of the fuselage are at right angles to the main part, with all of the empennage intact. So it does look like an airplane, in the summer.

I expect the TSB will say why the ELT didn't work.
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lownslow
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Re: Plane with 2 aboard missing between Chilliwack and Edmonton

Post by lownslow »

So what’s the take-away between this and the Mooney? Is it good practice for all GA flights to keep it within gliding distance of a road?
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Re: Plane with 2 aboard missing between Chilliwack and Edmonton

Post by Schooner69A »

"Is it good practice for all GA flights to keep it within gliding distance of a road?"

If you're a VFR pilot and you like pushing weather in the vertical real estate of BC, then it's probably a good idea to stick with the VFR routes which tend to follow valleys and roads.

If the weather is good and you have confidence in yourself and your aircraft, more direct routes can be taken; always being cognizant of the fact that engine failure is always a possibility.

I guess it's up to each pilot what degree of risk they'll accept for themselves and/or their passengers...
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Re: Plane with 2 aboard missing between Chilliwack and Edmonton

Post by AirFrame »

lownslow wrote: Sun Sep 23, 2018 12:39 am So what’s the take-away between this and the Mooney? Is it good practice for all GA flights to keep it within gliding distance of a road?
The Mooney *was* within gliding distance of a road. Doesn't help if you can't see it/lose sight of it because the weather is just that bad.
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Re: Plane with 2 aboard missing between Chilliwack and Edmonton

Post by pelmet »

lownslow wrote: Sun Sep 23, 2018 12:39 am So what’s the take-away between this and the Mooney? Is it good practice for all GA flights to keep it within gliding distance of a road?

My theory for operation in GA aircraft in among mountains was to NEVER fly among them in marginal weather(same with strong winds).

Usually just flew direct. Nice views, pretty scenery, few worries, several flight cancellations. Never had a problem.
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Last edited by pelmet on Mon Sep 24, 2018 12:45 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Plane with 2 aboard missing between Chilliwack and Edmonton

Post by RatherBeFlying »

See https://www.livetrack24.com/apps/index for apps you can install on your phone. Keep in mind that cellular coverage is better at altitude.

Android apps are generally free; iPhone apps cost a few bucks. But you do need extra power to keep your phone alive, either a USB outlet or an auxiliary battery.

In my glider, the flight computer Bluetooth's its GPS position to an app on my phone that is sent to Livetrack24.
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Re: Plane with 2 aboard missing between Chilliwack and Edmonton

Post by FADEC »

My Kannad 406 ELT is installed in the cabin easily in reach of the left seat. It has an "ON" switch.
Hopefully, I would have the presence of mind to hit the switch in a bad situation.
This one is also easily removable in a few seconds in case of need, and has an internal antenna which works when the external is disconnected.
I cannot understand those who stick with an old 121.5 ELT which is more or less useless.
I also carry a SPOT. Belt and Suspenders eh!
My spark plugs are worth more than the ELT cost; those who are not moving forward because of the cost of a 406 ELT or a Spot seem foolish.
Also; use Flight Following when available. If things go bad, ATC will know right where you were when it happened. If you can't get high enough for Flight Following, is the weather good enough for you? Flight Following doesn't work everywhere, but use it when it is available.
ADS-B will also help; Your position will be known at all times. When you disappear, your last position will be known.
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Re: Plane with 2 aboard missing between Chilliwack and Edmonton

Post by ahramin »

FADEC I'm not sure if you are familiar with the route from Edmonton to Chilliwack but to be high enough for flight following is not a matter of weather, it's a matter of oxygen. Much of the time there is no radio coverage with ACC or FSS at 10 000 or below. There are a few RCOs along the route and NavCanada publishes a nifty little map with all the locations and frequencies that easily fits on a kneeboard. I give both a VFR position report and PIREP going by each one, sometimes two if it's a large area.

The location of your ELT is interesting. Any install manual I have seen requires the ELT to be mounted in the tail for survivability, as close to the antenna as possible. Remote switches are now standard for all ELTs, VHF or UHF.

As for 121.5 ELTs being useless, I haven't seen anything new on that debate in a very long time. I don't know of any case where a UHF ELT saved a person when a VHF one would not have.
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Re: Plane with 2 aboard missing between Chilliwack and Edmonton

Post by AirFrame »

FADEC wrote: Mon Sep 24, 2018 1:40 amI cannot understand those who stick with an old 121.5 ELT which is more or less useless.
Does your Kannad have a built-in GPS? If not, it's no better or worse than a 121.5 ELT used to be in an emergency. The only difference is they know it's you, they still can't find you when your crash rips the ELT antenna off the fuselage.

I have a 121.5, and will until they finalize the rules on 406 or abandon it in favour of something more modern and useful. In the interim, I carry a SPOT, which (IMO) is better than a 406 because it's always pinging, emergency or not. If I have a problem and physically can't activate the emergency button, chances are there's no rush to find me. If I do activate it, tracking goes to "as fast as possible" which right now is 2.5 minute spacing. Look at the website, and you have an arrow pointing at my stopping point. You'll only get that with 406 if you pay a lot of extra $$$ for the GPS antenna and installation.

The technology has changed so fast in the last few years that the 406 ELT was quickly surpassed... SPOT, Inreach, etc. all have offerings that offer significant benefits over-and-above just locating a crash. Two-way messenging, enroute tracking, etc. All they need is a G-switch.
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