Emergency beacons and airplane crash

  • Thread starter Thread starter pitot-tube
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Airplane Crash
AI Thread Summary
Emergency beacons can struggle to transmit signals if an aircraft crashes in a deep ravine, but they may still reach satellites depending on the beacon's vertical transmission capability. If the signal fails to reach any satellites, it may provide clues about the ravine's characteristics and the aircraft's location. Factors such as fire, strong impact, low battery levels, and environmental conditions like the ionosphere can impair beacon functionality. Additionally, beacons covered by sand, snow, or metal debris may also be unable to transmit effectively. Overall, while there are limitations, beacons can still function under certain conditions.
pitot-tube
Messages
79
Reaction score
0
If an aircraft crashed in a deep ravine with steep walls would the signal emitted by the emergency beacon reach a satellite?If the signal usually can reach several satellites but
can't reach any of them from the ravine could we deduce anything about the nature of the ravine or the position of the aircraft in terms of latitude and longitude,from the paths the satellites take in the sky? Can emergency beacons be rendered useless by an airplane on fire or by a strong impact? How low do the batteries need to be to cause the beacons to fail to work properly? Can the atmosphere - particularly the charged ionosphere - stop beacon signals (120 -450 Mhz) under certain circumstances?
Would an emergency beacon in an airplane covered by sand or snow be incapable of signaling to a satellite? And what about a beacon that gets wrapped in metal from a crash?
 
Last edited:
Engineering news on Phys.org
Too many questions.

Yes there are several ways to defeat the function of emergency beacons.

The first one, deep in a canyon or a hole: The beacon could still transmit close to vertical. Eventually, one of the satellites would intercept that cone. How soon? It depends on the percent of sky covered by the cone.
 

Thread 'Race car suspension Class'

Posted June 2024 - 15 years after starting this class. I have learned a whole lot. To get to the short course on making your stock car, late model, hobby stock E-mod handle, look at the index below. Read all posts on Roll Center, Jacking effect and Why does car drive straight to the wall when I gas it? Also read You really have two race cars. This will cover 90% of problems you have. Simply put, the car pushes going in and is loose coming out. You do not have enuff downforce on the right...
View full post »

Thread 'Cantilever help'

I'm trying to decide what size and type of galvanized steel I need for 2 cantilever extensions. The cantilever is 5 ft. The space between the two cantilever arms is a 17 ft Gap the center 7 ft of the 17 ft Gap we'll need to Bear approximately 17,000 lb spread evenly from the front of the cantilever to the back of the cantilever over 5 ft. I will put support beams across these cantilever arms to support the load evenly
View full post »
Thread 'What's the most likely cause for this carbon seal crack?'

Thread 'What's the most likely cause for this carbon seal crack?'

We have a molded carbon graphite seal that is used in an inline axial piston, variable displacement hydraulic pump. One of our customers reported that, when using the “A” parts in the past, they only needed to replace them due to normal wear. However, after switching to our parts, the replacement cycle seems to be much shorter due to “broken” or “cracked” failures. This issue was identified after hydraulic fluid leakage was observed. According to their records, the same problem has occurred...
View full post »

Similar threads

Steve fossett and his airplane missing- the most likely scenario?
Replies
23
Views
7K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top