[libranof1987]

Just came across this news: Airbus has committed to fitting every passenger jet with the emergency locator technology (ELT) in accordance with the mandate issued by the EASA, in the aftermath of the disappearance MH370.

Under a new agreement with Paris, France-based aircraft ELT manufacturer Orolia, Ultima-DT will be installed on a standard basis on all Airbus commercial aircraft programs, including the A220, A320 family, A330, and A350

As per the (ICAO) Autonomous Distress Tracking (ADT) mandate was birthed as part of its Global Aeronautical Distress and Safety System (GADSS) initiative and European Union mandate, all new aircraft delivered from January 2023 shall be able to autonomously report their location anywhere in the world and determine the end of flight location to help rescue teams rapidly locate the aircraft and recover flight recorders.

When Ultima-DT’s tracking module captures a distress signal or condition and transmits it to the ELT, a distress message can be remitted to air traffic controllers, search and rescue agencies, and the aircraft operator’s ground-based personnel. The module’s signaling of a distress condition then also triggers minute-by-minute tracking.

In the event of an aircraft experiencing a power failure, the new ELT still transmits distress signals to the COSPAS SARSAT satellite system, which has provided free search and rescue satellite emergency locator service to the aviation industry for more than 20 years.

Whereas previous generation ELT distress tracking technology was activated by G-forces, Ultima-DT is activated by distress conditions that are likely to lead to a crash or accident.

https://www.aviationtoday.com/2020/1...eginning-2023/

[airbus]

This is a welcome move. When Air France Flight 447 (AF447) went missing in June 2009, it took nearly two years to recover major parts of the plane and flight recorders. Then five years later Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370) happened, which is still not found. Hope this kind of tracking technology will solve the problem, but what about the planes already in service?

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by airbus

This is a welcome move. When Air France Flight 447 (AF447) went missing in June 2009, it took nearly two years to recover major parts of the plane and flight recorders.

I remember searching for articles on why planes didn't have this technology already, when MH370 went missing.

The Malaysia Airline jet's last contact was with a satellite system run by Inmarsat. The company's vice president, Chris McLaughlin, says technology is already available to send short bursts of data every few minutes. He says the Air France jetliner that went down in the Atlantic in 2009 had that technology, and it meant recovery crews could quickly narrow the search area. The Malaysia Airline jet, McLaughlin says, did not.

Cost is clearly one obstacle to more widespread deployment of streaming technology. The system developed by the Canadian firm FLYHT would cost airlines $100,000 per plane to install. Another concern involves the pilots, who see too much information readily available as an invasion of their privacy.

Yes, $100k is a lot but that's 0.1% of the cost of a plane (eg. a new A320 is ~$100 M).

https://www.npr.org/2014/03/27/29533...a-in-real-time

[Jeroen]

It runs of a battery. Part of the problem with locating MH370 was that they had not put new batteries into the pinger of the black box. So nobody even knew how long that pinger would have been operational.

I do wonder how effective this device is, when submerged. Or whether it can be disabled by the crew (i.e. part of the problem with MH370 most likely too)

I wonder how

Ultima-DT is activated by distress conditions that are likely to lead to a crash or accident.

this is actually implemented.

Jeroen