Question of the Week: Is It Time for a (Mandatory) ELT Upgrade?

Editorial Staff

Wednesday, September 05, 2007 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Previous poll results showed 34% of respondents flew locally during their summer vacation, and 13% flew to Oshkosh.
The NTSB recommends the FAA mandate newer 406MHz emergency locator transmitters (ELTs) in all aircraft, ideally by February 2009.
This requirement would necessitate many upgrades but is expected by the NTSB to greatly improve rescuers' ability to locate downed aircraft.
The current "Question of the Week" asks readers whether the FAA should require 406MHz ELTs.

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This Week’s Question |Previous Week’s Answers

PREVIOUS RESULTS ***

Last week, we asked the standard back-to-school question: What did you do (or, more appropriately, where did you fly) on your summer vacation?

The biggest group of respondents (34% of those who took time to answer our Question) told us they didn’t do much out of the ordinary – just flew around the patch a bit.

Another 13% were brave enough to fly into The World’s Busiest Control Tower for Oshkosh.

For a complete breakdown of responses, click here.
(You may be asked to register and answer, if you haven’t already participated in this poll.)

THIS WEEK’S QUESTION ***

The NTSB is recommending the FAA require newer 406Mz emergency locator transmitters in all aircraft, preferably by February 2009. This would require many upgrades, but according to the NTSB would greatly increase rescuers’ ability to locate downed aircraft.

What do you think: Should the FAA require 406MHz ELTs?

Click here to answer.

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