NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO AIR SEARCH & RESCUE ASSOCIATION

PATERSON HANGAR, THUNDER BAY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

SAR REPORT - Case No. 0510

ELT SIGNAL - VICINITY OF THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO

2002-05-03

At 11:20z on 03 May 2002, JRCC Trenton contacted CASARA Ontario Zone 3 Thunder Bay (NOASARA) for assistance in locating the source of a weak ELT signal received by high fliers and localized by SARSAT 101 nautical miles NW of Thunder Bay, Ontario on a bearing of 304^oM. SARSAT-derived coordinates at N49^o20.7' W091^o18.2', Confidence Level 4, were provided by JRCC. One CASARA aircraft and one ground ELT unit were requested for immediate dispatch to home the source of the ELT. No other military or civil resources had been tasked at that time. At 11:48z, confirmation was provided to the JRCC Air Controller that CASARA Thunder Bay could provide these resources. C. Smith was designated the CASARA Search Coordinator.

At 13:05z, a CASARA ground ELT crew was dispatched to the SARSAT coordinates from the Paterson Hangar at CYQT via Hwy 17 (Trans Canada). A full aircrew was assembled for C-182 C-GUNJ and dispatched from the Paterson Hangar at 13:13z for ELT/DF homing in the same area. In the meantime, JRCC advised that no further SARSAT hits had been logged, and no additional reports had been received from high fliers.

Upon reaching the search area, but having acquired no signal, the ground ELT crew attempted to box-in the SARSAT coordinates using available primary and secondary roads, but were not successful in picking up any transmissions. Enroute to the search area paralleling Hwy 17, the C-182 crew picked up brief carrier-only signals on 121.5 near Raith and Upsala, Ontario, but these appeared to coincide with microwave towers in both locations. A weak signal (carrier only with no modulation) was acquired in the vicinity of SARSAT coordinates with the greatest strength along a line bearing 020 ^o-200^o M through the coordinates, for a distance of approximately 10 nautical miles either side. Other frequencies were tested (121.6, 123.1, 243.0 MHz) but the carrier registered on 121.5. MHz only. Lines flown perpendicular to this bearing indicated a slightly stronger signal to the northeast. No directional information could be ascertained; nor were there any sightings by the spotters. The signal strength indications could be duplicated on subsequent sweeps, however, which provided some confidence. The C-182 reached Bingo at 15:15z and landed CYQT at 16:02z. The ground ELT crew was placed on standby in the Upsala area after completing their search effort.

At 16:30z, after receiving a briefing of the C-182 crew's findings, JRCC tasked a visual search of the area in the vicinity of the original SARSAT coordinates using a CLA at 1000'/1. The crew prepared the tasking and made ready for launch.

At 17:39z JRCC called with new information: high fliers 20-50 nm west of CYQT (FL 370) were reporting a strong modulated ELT signal on 121.5 MHz for 1-4 minutes duration; one aircraft at 6000' over CYQT also reported receiving a strong and clear modulated ELT signal. JRCC directed CASARA to launch the C-182 immediately and begin homing, putting the proposed CLA tasking on standby. CYQT tower also advised JRCC during this time that an ELT was being heard on 121.5 toward the northeast. The C-182 took off at 17:55z and began homing along the shoreline to the northeast of the city; however no signal was acquired by the crew. At 17:58z JRCC advised CASARA that CC-130 Rescue 313 was enroute to CYQT from CYSB, and expected within an hour.

At 18:03z a local AME reported in person to the Search Coordinator at the Paterson Hangar, advising that a shipment of several ELTs from Winnipeg had been collected from the Greyhound Bus terminal in Thunder Bay just after 16:00z that afternoon. After becoming aware of an ELT search underway, he called the recipient and asked for the package to be inspected. He reported that at approximately 17:55z a transmitting EBC Marine ELT was found in the parcel and deactivated. CASARA advised JRCC at 18:05 of this report. JRCC noted this information, but directed the airborne CASARA C-182 to continue its sweep over CYQT (20 nm radius) to confirm that the ELT transmissions had ceased.

At 18:30z, after reporting their sweep of the NE quadrant complete with no signals received, the C-182 crew was requested to return to base by JRCC. At 18:33z, JRCC stood down all CASARA resources. The C-182 landed CYQT at 18:46z; the ground ELT crew was advised to stand down and return at 19:00z (their next scheduled check-in time), and returned to base at 20:25z.

Unknown; but it appears that the ELT may have activated inadvertently during overland shipping from the maintenance facility in Winnipeg, MB to the courier depot in Thunder Bay, ON.

A package containing several ELTs was released to Greyhound Courier Express in Winnipeg, MB on 02 May 2002 (Central Time), for bus courier shipment to Thunder Bay, ON. The following times were obtained from Greyhound's schedule 700-G:

• 03:15z Greyhound Bus Service departed Winnipeg, MB
• 05:35z Arrived Kenora, ON
• 05:58z Departed Kenora, ON, via Hwy 17
• 07:30z Arrived Dryden, ON
• 07:40z Departed Dryden, ON, via Hwy 17
• 08:50z through Wabigoon, ON, via Hwy 17
• 11:00z through Upsala, ON, via Hwy 17
• 11:55z Arrived Thunder Bay, ON, via Hwy 11/17