Canada Backs Off on 406 MHz ELT Rule
AVweb reported today that according to Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) President Kevin Psutka, the Canadian Minister of Transport, John Baird, has suspened implimentation of a proposed rule that would have required most aircraft flying in and into Canada to have a 406 Mhz ELT (emergency locator transmitter) installed by February, 2011. The original rule was due to be issued in March and had been held up with Canada’s change in government earlier this year.
This is good news for U.S. pilots planning to fly into or through Canada who have been at loose ends about what to do. Regardles, I’d urge all pilots to make sure they carry a 406 MHz PLB, at a minimum. From my perspective the unreliable ELT, even a 406, is back-up to a PLB, not the other way around.
I am attending the RTCM SC110 committee meeting and NOAA Beacon Manufacturers Workshop the end of this week and expect to recieve a report from the Canadian Search and Rescue Secretariat on this matter.
Stand by for more.
