McMurdo FASTFIND PLB used in light aircraft French mountain rescue

A McMurdo FASTFIND Personal Locator Beacon was used to alert search and rescue authorities when a light aircraft en route to Athens from Popham in the UK made an emergency landing in June. The plane landed in a forested area 15 minutes after take-off from St Etienne in France on the third leg of a flight bound for Aix-Les- Milles in the South of France.

Three experienced pilots were on board the plane. Despite careful weather route planning unexpected bad weather forced them to turn back to St Etienne. However, they were ultimately forced by lack of visibility in a mountainous area to attempt a precautionary landing. The pilot, Mike Vernon was able to bring the plane to a controlled halt on the top of the tree canopy but the subsequent drop to the ground caused substantial damage and injuries amongst the crew, one of whom was in hospital for a month.

The crew was able to retrieve their McMurdo FASTFIND PLB, their GPS and some warm clothes from the aircraft before moving clear, due to the risk of fire posed by a leaking fuel tank. French-speaking Michel Boileau dialed 999 on his UK mobile phone and was connected to the French rescue service. Mike activated the McMurdo PLB whose signal was relayed via the COSPAS SARSAT satellite system to search and rescue authorities in the UK, who in turn notified the French authorities.

A call to Mike’s aircraft partner in the UK meant that he could confirm the PLB activation to the UK Coastguard which monitors the system. Within an hour the FASTFIND information indicated the vicinity of the emergency to the French authorities, and the rescue operation had begun.

A team of more than 70 people was assembled including a local radio ham who helped to localize the PLB, although since it wasn’t McMurdo’s GPS version, the exact position could not be pinpointed due to the mountain environment. Search helicopters were unable to take off because of the weather.

Mike’s GPS was able to provide lat-long information to provide an exact location (although the trees made this difficult) and after 3 of hours a recovery team with search dogs arrived and arranged for the three flyers to be taken to St Etienne hospital for treatment.

The plane was a Piper PA22-160 Tri Pacer which was on its way to the IAOPA meeting at the Tatoi airbase near Athens.

The combination of the FASTFIND PLB activation, handheld GPS and mobile phone calls brought about a speedy recovery of the crash victims. Carrying a PLB like the McMurdo FASTFIND is vital, particularly if an emergency occurs in a remote location where there is no mobile phone signal, although Mike Vernon and his team were lucky on this occasion. The PLB is pre-registered to the user, so important information is known by rescue authorities which can be life-saving. A GPS version of the FASTFIND is also available, so the exact location information can be provided without the use of a separate handheld GPS.