Two adults with two children were traveling from Barrow, AK to Point Lay, AK in an 8-wheel ATV when they ran out of fuel.  They manually activated their 406 MHz PLB for assistance.  The AKRCC received the SARSAT alert, passed it to the North Slope Borough RCC and they launched a helicopter to the area.  The four persons began walking to higher ground with the PLB because they thought it would work better on higher ground.  This contributed to position errors and increased the search time.  The helicopter located them, hoisted them aboard and transported them to safety.  

Four SARSAT Rescues

The ELT beacon activation was followed by an FAA report of an overdue aircraft traveling from Fairbanks to Anvik.  An aircraft with two persons on board had crashed.  The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center (AKRCC) launched a helicopter and an aircraft.  With the data from the AKRCC, a local pilot located the aircraft and coordinated the recovery of both uninjured survivors.  

Two SARSAT Rescues

The vessel Hooked Up, with six persons on board was disabled and adrift, with steering problems.  The Coast Guard District Seven Rescue Coordination Center launched a 47-foot vessel from Station Canaveral which used the SARSAT position to locate the vessel.  They towed Hooked Up to Cape Canaveral, FL. 

Six SARSAT Rescues

A man on a 4 wheel ATV had an accident and manually activated his 406 MHz PLB for assistance.  The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center received the SARSAT alert and passed it to the Alaska State Troopers who launched a helicopter to the area.  The injured man was located by the helicopter and his position was radioed to the local civilian state ambulance service.  They launched a helicopter which recovered the injured man and transported him to the local hospital. 

One SARSAT Rescue

North Slope Borough Search and Rescue was contacted and they responded with a volunteer ground team out of Anaktuvuk Pass which located the distressed person. He was a local hunter whose four-wheeler had become stuck in the mud and slush. The hunter was assisted by the ground team and all returned safely to Anaktuvuk Pass.

One SARSAT Rescue

Coast Guard District Seven received a 406 alert from the sailing vessel Jade.  The crew had manually activated the EPIRB after their vessel suffered mechanical problems and began taking on water.  Coast Guard District Seven diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Legare and launched a helicopter from Air Facility Charleston, South Carolina.  The helicopter conducted two initial searches with no results.  Coast Guard launched a fixed wing aircraft from Air Station Clearwater, Florida.  The Coast Guard Cutter Legare located the Jade using their radar.  Two of the four people on board were sick.  One person had symptoms of pneumonia and the other was also diabetic. The Cutter Legare arrived on scene and provided first aid assistance to the two sick passengers. Cutter Legare is towing the vessel to meet up with the local commercial salvage that will assist Jade into port.

Four SARSAT RESCUES and a dog

The second incident was on 11 July 2007 when the Cospas-Sarsat system detected a 121.5 MHz distress signal approximately 39 miles southeast of King Salmon, Alaska. The Coast Guard diverted a Coast Guard fixed wing aircraft to investigate the ELT. The crew of the aircraft located a downed aircraft. The Coast Guard also launched a helicopter from Kodiak to the scene and the crew transported the 2 persons to King Salmon in good condition.

Two SARSAT Rescues

The first incident was on 6 July 2007 when the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center (AKRCC) received MAYDAY calls from several aircraft reporting they sighted a distressed aircraft in the Lake Clark area.  They contacted FAA Anchorage Center which confirmed there was a downed aircraft in the area.  A Cessna 185 aircraft crashed 75 miles west of Anchorage, Alaska. AKRCC launched a helicopter and a fixed wing aircraft to the SARSAT location. The crew of the helicopter located the crash site, hoisted the survivors on board and transported them to Anchorage Regional Hospital.  The four people from the crashed aircraft suffered minor cuts and bruises.

Four SARSAT Rescues

The Air Force Rescue Coordination Center received an alert when a hiker manually activated his rented PLB after he began experiencing symptoms of dehydration and heat exhaustion. Arizona Department of Emergency Management activated state resources to locate the individual and transport him to a waiting ambulance. The individual was transported to Flagstaff Medical Center for further treatment.

One SARSAT Rescue