FORT LAUDERDALE, FL — July 21, 2009 — Over the course of three days,
the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) rescued 12 people from three disabled boats
in Florida and Georgia. All were saved as a result of Personal Locator
Beacons (PLB) alerting authorities to their distress and location.
All three of the PLBs activated were ACR Electronics' beacons -- an
AquaFix™ 406 GPS and two ResQFix™ 406 GPS PLBs.
The good news is these rescues had happy endings.
The same cannot be said about a Florida boating accident five months
earlier that ended tragically for two NFL football players and a friend
who did not have a satellite-detectable emergency locator beacon. After
days of an extensive search in heavy seas—230 combined hours of Coast
Guard aircraft, cutters and motor lifeboats—only one survivor was found
clinging to the up-ended boat. The other three are presumed lost.
According to cost estimates, the search for the four missing fishermen
totaled a staggering $1.6 million.
U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Cindy Beckert said the USCG cannot
emphasize enough the importance of having a registered EPIRB or PLB on
board when boating. "The beacons really help with rescues. They shorten
our response time and we go right to those in distress. Beacons are
valuable time savers that save us from searching over wide areas. We
know exactly where to go. Everyone should have one," Petty Officer
Beckert said.
In the recent rescues, all three boats were at least 20 miles off the
coasts of north Florida and southern Georgia. Their extensive distance
from shore limited communication methods, like cell phones or VHF
radios. One boater, who was 150 miles east of Brunswick, Ga., had a
satellite phone that did not transmit reliably.
In each emergency, the boaters activated their PLBs as signaling devices
of last resort after all methods of self-rescue were exhausted. In all
three rescues, the beacon's signal enabled the USCG SAR crews to
pinpoint the survivors' exact latitude and longitude positions and
arrive on scene within two hours.
"Experienced mariners know the value of a well maintained vessel but
they also know it does not take much to ruin a day on the water either.
Not only can an EPIRB or a PLB alert the Coast Guard that you are in
need of rescue, it can also lead them to you," said Chris Wahler,
marketing director for ACR Electronics, Inc., a Fort Lauderdale,
Florida-based manufacturer, which introduced PLB products to the U.S. in
2003.
Below are brief recaps of the recent rescues:
- On June 27, six people were recovered at 3:30 p.m. from a disabled
38-foot boat, Holler Back, 20 miles northeast of Daytona Beach, Fla. The
USCG towed the vessel to shore. No reports of injury.
- On June 28 shortly after midnight, three men fishing 20 miles east of
St. Mary's, Ga. were thrown into the water when their 23-foot fishing
boat capsized. Two men were able to climb onto the overturned hull; one
remained in the water. A USCG helicopter hoisted the survivor from the
water and a USCG motor lifeboat crew rescued the men from atop the
vessel. The survivors were in good condition.
- On June 29, the USCG received a satellite phone call that the 37-foot
vessel Cheeky 2 had engine failure 150 miles offshore. Due to limited
communication, the boat's crew activated their ResQFix™ 406 GPS PLB. A
Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules airplane used the beacon's signal to locate
the boat. A nearby USCG cutter transferred the boaters aboard and a
second USCG cutter towed the vessel to shore. No injuries reported.
EPIRBs and PLBs transmit signals on internationally recognized distress
frequencies. The 406 MHz signal is monitored by NOAA (National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration), and the Search and Rescue
Satellite-Aided Tracking System (SARSAT) detects and locates distress
signals. GPS coordinates greatly assist search and rescue crews, and in
the event GPS isn’t acquired, position can be calculated through Doppler
Shift as a reliable backup.
NOAA has reported that in 2008, COSPAS-SARSAT assisted in the rescue of
203 people in 65 incidents at sea. Worldwide, the COSPAS-SARSAT 406 MHz
satellite system, which is celebrating 26 years of operation, is
credited with rescuing more than 24,500 people since the program’s
inception in 1982. Of that number, more than 6,110 persons were rescued
in the U.S.
About Cobham plc
Cobham plc is an international company engaged in the development,
delivery and support of advanced aerospace and defense systems for land,
sea, air and space. The company has four divisions that collectively
specialize in the provision of components, subsystems and services that
keep people safe, improve communications and enhance the capability of
aerospace and defense platforms.
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John Bell 954-970-3394