Bravo Blog...

At some point during the initial hours of flight training, your instructor walks you back to the baggage compartment of your aircraft and points out a device that looks a bit like a small cable box.

"This is your best friend in the worst case scenario," he or she says. "It's called an ELT - an Emergency Locator Transmitter - and helps rescuers find you if you go down."

Comforting, for sure. But a recent case, among others, shows it's not the most reliable piece of equipment on your plane. And rather than hope that it will work, there may be other ways to make yourself more obvious to rescue crews.

Tuesday morning, June 17th, 2008. An Island Hoppers Cessna 172 tour flight departs Kona International Airport in mostly clear skies on the Big Island of Hawaii. Three people are on board, including one of the most experienced flight instructors in the State. In the passenger seats are two tourists, a married couple from Japan.

About two hours later, the plane is spotted by another tour flight. It's circling over the very active Kilauea volcano, a popular sightseeing spot in Hawaii, and stunning from the air.

But an hour later, when the plane does not return to Kona as expected, the tour company notifies rescue crews.

The pilot had filed a flight plan. And for all we know, the ELT was working. It shouldn't be hard to find a downed plane on a island, right?

For the next week, dozens of aircraft comb the route of the flight, with 121.5 tuned-in and turned way-up in the cockpit, hoping to hear that distinctive signal from the ELT.

Amazingly - nothing, except frustration and anxiety from rescuers, and the families of those on board.

The Big Island is certainly mountainous. It has 13,000 foot peaks, lava rock, and thick rainforest canopies. But with a flight plan, and ELT, how far could it have strayed without a trace?

The Coast Guard calls off its search. And fire department choppers say they'll give it one more shot the next day.

And sure enough, 6 days after the flight disappears - on the last day of searching - a helicopter pilot, working off a tip from campers, spots the wreckage in a thick forest.

No ELT signal. No survivors.

And as the NTSB tries to figure out what caused an airplane piloted by a one-time Master CFI to end-up crumpled-up on a volcanic slope, we must ask: why didn't that ELT bring rescuers closer, sooner. Even if the occupants didn't survive the crash, quick recovery brings quicker closure to the families.

Clearly, we can't trust our ELTs to send for help. So what should you do when forced towards the ground to make yourself more visible?

Get on that radio. Give your location. Repeat it. Repeat it again. Someone may hear it.

Try to fix what's wrong. Go through your checklists.

No landing spot? Aim for a clearing of any kind. Even if the landing is messy, at least someone can spot you quickly.

And carry signaling devices with you. Flares. A mirror. And something to make a fire.

Don't completely dismiss that tiny box in the back of your aircraft. ELTs can make the difference. But also know, it can just as easily go MIA.

You can watch news reports about this case by clicking here.

Article by Chris Archer; Send him an email