Civil Air Patrol The Official USAF Auxiliary Capt. Rangi Keen, CAP

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol2 Overview What is the Civil Air Patrol (CAP)? Our missions How we are activated Examples from real missions

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol3 A Brief History Formed on December 1 st, 1941 Wartime missions Coastal and border patrol Transport Aerial Target Towing Searchlight & Radar Training Disaster Relief Airfield and Resource Security

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol4 CAP Today The United States Air Force Auxiliary A congressionally chartered non- combatant organization 65,000 Civilian Volunteers 35,000 Seniors (adults) 30,000 Cadets 52 Wings 550 Corporate and 4,500 Member Aircraft

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol5 CAP Missions Aerospace Education Cadet Program Emergency Services Search and Rescue Disaster Relief Emergency Communications Homeland Security

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol6 Search and Rescue (SAR) Tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC) Located at Langley AFB in Alabama CAP conducts 95% of all inland SAR activities for downed aircraft Credited with saving 140 lives last year

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol7 Mission Activation AFRCC is notified by the FAA, COSPAS-SARSAT, or other agencies Once verified as an actual distress situation, AFRCC activates the appropriate search agencies, which may include CAP, Coast Guard, or other federal, state, or local agencies All missions must go through AFRCC

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol8 How can you speed it up? In the event of an overdue aircraft, your dispatch center should contact the AFRCC directly as part of its Post Incident Action Plan. AFRCC (800) Give them the last known position and time, aircraft type and color, and souls and fuel on board.

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol9 Survival Rates 29% will survive a crash 60% will be injured 81% will die if not located within 24 hours 94% will die if not located within 48 hours 40% will be uninjured 50% will die if not located within 72 hours Survival chances diminish rapidly after 72 hours

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol10 Response Times Average time until activation 15.6 hours if no flight plan was filed 3.9 hours if a VFR flight plan was filed 1.1 hours if an IFR flight plan was filed Average time to find 62.6 hours if no flight plan was filed 18.2 hours if a VFR flight plan was filed 11.5 hours if an IFR flight plan was filed

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol11 The Elusive ELT Automatic radio beacon (100 milliwatts) Roughly equal to that of a regular flashlight Can be heard on a line-of-sight basis.

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol12 Types of ELTs Three frequencies MHz (VHF) 243 MHz (UHF – military) MHz (advanced with GPS) General types General aviation aircraft Marine (EPIRB) Personal Locator Beacon (PLB)

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol13 The ELT Antenna Most light aircraft have ELTs installed

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol14 But… They don’t always survive

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol15 ELT Activation ELTs - activated by G-force Requires 5-9 horizontal “ Gs ” Some have a remote switch in the cockpit EPIRBs - activated by a mercury switch Float out of their holder and invert PLBs - generally manually activated

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol16 Inadvertent Activation Hard landing Inadvertent change of switch position Removal of the unit without deactivation Inadvertent activation of the manual switch Dropping the unit can activate the G-switch Malfunction Switch short Battery leakage or corrosion

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol17 Who’s Listening COSPAS-SARSAT FAA Facilities FSS, Centers, Towers Airliners Military Aircraft General Aviation Aircraft Signal report is relayed to AFRCC

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol19 How SARSAT Works Determines position using Doppler shift Classic Doppler Example: the lowering of the pitch of a train’s horn as it passes by you If you’re right near the track, this change is fast If you’re farther away, the change is more gradual A change in the frequency received by the satellite occurs at the Point of Closest Approach For an overhead pass, this change is very abrupt For an oblique pass, this change is more gradual A higher frequency beacon gives a better shift Hence 406 MHz beacons tend to be more accurate

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol20 Determining the position First pass gives a latitude It could be either side of the satellite Second pass determines the longitude Average minutes between passes Positional error is typically elliptical 6 NM North-South 12 NM East-West Latitude Possible Location Distance

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol21 System Accuracy MHz 12 NM radius, 452 Sq Mi Average 6 Hour notification 75 mW transmitter 406 MHz 2 NM radius, 12.5 Sq Mi Average 1 hour notification 25 mW transmitter 406 MHz with GPS 0.05 NM radius, Sq Mi Average 5 minute notification 5 W data burst every 50 secs 25 mW homing beacon NM NM 406 w/GPS NM

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol22 False Alerts 97% of all missions are false alerts MHz 1 in 500 are actual distress (0.2%) Only 1 in 5 come from beacons (20%) 406 MHz 1 in 12 are actual distress (8.3%) Registration is required Most alerts can be resolved with a phone call

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol23 Search Methods Electronic - Tracking the ELT Fast: once we are receiving your signal, we can usually locate you to within 100 meters in less than 20 minutes Can be performed in poor visibility and at night Visual Slow Difficult VFR only

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol24 Search Teams Airborne Three-person air crews perform electronic and visual searches Ground Four-person teams perform electronic and visual searches Work in all weather Manpower intensive, need to localize search area to be successful Work as a team with the air crews

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol25 This is what we look for

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol26 Crash with CAP on Scene

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol27 Search Visibilities ObjectDistance Person in life jacket1/2 mile Person in small life raft3/4 mile Person in open meadow within wooded area 1/2 mile or less Crash in wooded area1/2 mile Crash on desert or plain2 miles Person on desert or plain1 mile or less Vehicle in open area2 miles or less

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol28 Crash From 800’ AGL

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol29 Crash From 800’ AGL

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol30 Crash From 1500’ AGL

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol31 Crash From 800’ AGL

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol32 Kearsarge Crash (July 2004)

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol33 Kearsarge Crash (Overhead)

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol34 Kearsarge Crash (Close-up)

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol35 We Used ICS at Kearsarge CAP uses the Incident Command System during all its missions Provides for effective span of control and unity of command Facilitates communication and cooperation with other agencies

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol36 Posse Comitatus We are not law enforcement CAP members may not Carry firearms Participate in detention or arrest of persons or seizure of property Conduct surveillance of personnel or equipment

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol37 Posse Comitatus (Cont.) CAP members may not be deputized No authority to restrict persons by force May provide passive assistance to law enforcement Can do passive site surveillance No trespassing allowed No special dispensations

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol38 Working Together Call AFRCC at (800) Search and rescue exercises (SAREXs) Other ideas?

6 October 2004Civil Air Patrol39 For More Information Web Sites