When setting for the skies, it is important to ensure you have properly planned and are prepared for all circumstances.
Important safety tips for aviators
We have developed the following pre-flight, during, and post-flight precautionary safety checks to complete in preparation for each trip.
Pre-flight safety checks
If a registered civil or ultralight aircraft crashes, ditches, or goes missing, we have a national responsibility for coordinating the search and rescue (SAR) response. We encourage all pilots to ensure they are fully prepared for the possible emergency situations ahead.
The following precautionary measures ensure your safety as a pilot, and your passengers onboard, as well as assisting authorities to initiate a SAR response as soon as possible after being alerted of an emergency situation.
- Safety equipment
Before each trip you should make sure you have the most appropriate survival equipment onboard and that you know how to use it.
The safety equipment should be suitable for the terrain being overflown. Having the correct safety equipment onboard will assist you in an emergency until help arrives.
One item that we recommend as part of your safety kit is an emergency distress beacon, whether carriage is mandated by law or not. We also recommend you check the aircraft carriage requirements with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) before each journey to ensure that you are compliant.
Types of beacons used in aircraft
Emergency locator transmitters (ELT’s) are common distress beacons used in an aircraft. They are mounted in a rack and installed permanently in your aircraft. We recommend checking your beacon carriage requirements with CASA to ensure you are compliant.
Another popular beacon used in aircraft is a personal locator beacon (PLB). PLBs are to be physically carried on your body or within easy reach and can be used as an alternative to an ELT for some aircraft.
- Preparations for your beacon
Check your beacon carriage requirements
CASA is Australia’s air safety regulator and has the primary responsibility for the maintenance, enhancement and promotion of the safety of civil aviation in Australia.
We recommend checking the distress beacon carriage requirements for your aircraft with CASA to ensure you are compliant.
Note 1: Analogue beacons using a 121.5 MHz frequency have not been licensed for use since 2010 and can no longer be operated in Australia.
Note 2: 121.5MHz beacons are no longer being monitored by satellites. They will not be detected by the satellite tracking system when activated.
We recommend switching to a GPS equipped 406 MHz beacon as soon as possible. Don’t put your safety in the hands of an unreliable beacon.
Register your beacon
Our online beacon registration system is a mobile friendly and accessible means for registering and updating your beacon information from your mobile phone, tablet or laptop.
Make sure your details are up to date in your online beacon registration account. This includes your contact details and emergency contacts.
You can upload details about your trip plans and photos of your aircraft to help identify you in an emergency.
Having a registered beacon could make all the difference in a life threatening situation.
Save your proof of registration
When required by law, providing proof of registration is easy. The four options are:
- SMS—save your SMS registration confirmation on your mobile phone.
- email—save your confirmation email on your mobile phone or tablet.
- print—print your registration confirmation, or if you have no email, request a printed copy to be sent via mail.
- online—check your beacon registration status online.
If you have an existing beacon registration sticker it will remain valid until it expires.
Check your battery expiry date and dispose responsibly
Regularly check your beacon battery expiry date. If your beacon battery is expired, visit the distress beacon website for responsible beacon disposal options.
It should be noted that even though the beacon appears to be functioning correctly (ie the light operates) after the battery expiry date, this does not mean it will work correctly in a distress situation. Make sure you service your beacon and replace the battery before the expiry date.
If you decide to replace your expired beacon, make sure you dispose of it responsibly.
Australia's SAR system commits many hours and valuable resources searching for unwanted beacons in rubbish tips. This diverts important SAR resources away from real distress situations.
Current disposal options that we offer:
Option 1
Contact your local battery store to check whether they disconnect and dispose of beacons. A small fee may apply.
Option 2
Contact your local maritime safety agency. They may be able to provide disposal advice.
Western Australia has individual disposal arrangements and further information is available from the Department of Transport or Department of Transport beacon information.
Option 3
Refer to the manufacturer’s instructions which may suggest beacon battery servicing or replacement options. Then contact your local waste management facility to ask about disposing of your unwanted beacon in an environmentally friendly way. A small fee may apply.
Store your beacon correctly
Although ELT’s are installed permanently in an aircraft, PLBs and EPIRBs should be kept within easy reach in case of an emergency situation.
It is important to keep distress beacons away from:
- items that may accidentally knock the activation switch
- magnetic sources, such as microphones and radio speakers
- high pressure water sprays
- children who may play with the beacon.
To prevent your beacon being stolen, keep it locked away or out of sight when not in use.
Test your beacon correctly
When testing your beacon, ensure that it is in ‘test mode’ and not in the ‘operational mode’ (refer to the manufacturer’s instructions). Testing in the ‘operational mode’ may accidentally activate the SAR system resulting in the initiation of a SAR response.
If you accidentally activate your beacon, phone us immediately on 1800 815 257. There is no penalty for inadvertent alerts.
To register your beacon or for more information visit the Beacons website or phone 02 6279 5000.
- Nominate a SARTIME
Airservices Australia notifies us of overdue aircraft after communications checks on Air Traffic Service (ATS) frequencies fail to make contact.
Airservices contacts us when intelligence gathered indicates imminent or known aircraft crashes, missing aircraft, or distress beacon activations detected by aircraft or ATS.
In line with advice provided from Airservices Australia, we recommend that all pilots in command should lodge a SARTIME with Airservices Australia. SARTIMES are flight plans which assist with SAR for the safety of the pilot and for those that are onboard.
You can lodge a SARTIME via the following methods:
- online—NAIPS Internet Service (NIS) provides automatic confirmation of successful flight notification. Make sure that you have received a confirmation to ensure your SARTIME was submitted correctly.
- phone—phone Airservices Australia on 1800 814 931 to lodge, cancel or amend a SARTIME.
- radio—when the above methods are unavailable a SARTIME can be lodged, cancelled or amended by VHF or HF radio. This method is only recommended when the above methods are unavailable as there may be some delays due to operator workload or HF interference.
SARTIME phraseology for radio
When lodging or amending SARTIME details over the radio, always begin your transmission with the phrase 'SARTIME details' then wait for the operator to ask you to go ahead. At the end of your flight, use the phrase 'cancel SARTIME'. Other phrases such as 'cancel SAR' do not clearly distinguish between VFR and IFR flights and may confuse air traffic services operators.
Moare information about SARTIMES is available from Airservices Australia.
- Lodge a flight note with someone responsible
A flight note is another arrangement available for pilots to capture all necessary information that would be required in the event of a SAR operation.
As the pilot in command, it is your obligation to nominate a responsible person to hold your flight note and alert SAR authorities once the nominated SARTIME has expired. A responsible person is nominated at the discretion of the pilot and may include police, concerned relatives, friends, or people experienced in holding flight notes.
It is very important that the flight note holder is aware of their responsibilities in the event of an emergency. This would include knowing what number to call when the nominated SARTIME has expired and understanding what information to hand over to SAR authorities to assist in preparing the most effective SAR response.
We recommend a comprehensive and detailed flight note for every trip. The effectiveness of the SAR response is directly related to the timeliness, quality, and accuracy of information provided to SAR authorities about the missing aircraft. Therefore it is important to include within the flight note a comprehensive and detailed description of the aircraft, its occupants, the planned route, safety equipment carried onboard, the type of beacon onboard, mobile phone carriage, and so forth. The more details included in a flight note, the more information available to SAR authorities for coordinating the SAR response.
Our aviation contact number—1800 815 257
During an emergency situation
In the event of an emergency, a MAYDAY or PAN PAN call should be the first attempt of alerting authorities of a distress situation as verbal communications provide the most details related to the emergency and can result in an immediate response. If not operating on an ATS frequency, always have the area or overlying airspace frequency set for immediate use.
- When to activate your distress beacon
This is a topic which concerns many pilots. Every distress situation is different and we can't know what you are thinking as a pilot in an emergency situation. We can't give you a definite answer for when you should activate your distress beacon but we advise you to prioritise your safety and the safety of your passengers.
In a distress situation, two-way communication is the most effective means of alerting the authorities of your emergency. If two-way communications are not available, then a distress beacon should be activated in situations of grave and imminent danger. Use your distress beacon when you are facing a life threatening situation. This is a personal decision that is different for everybody so you must use your judgement.
If you are facing a life threatening situation, you need to be able to make these types of decisions when in the air and after landing.
When in the air, a beacon can be activated if you feel you are in grave and imminent danger. Facing a forced landing would be a reason to feel in grave and imminent danger. In a forced landing situation, when you are unsure of your position, when you are lost or have deviated from the planned or notified flight route, you should activate your distress beacon.
On occasion, you will be asked to activate your distress beacon in flight as a direct request from us via the air traffic system. It is always up to you as the pilot in command to decide whether to do so. If you chose to activate in flight, be cautious that broadcasting interference may occur.
After landing, there are various factors to consider.
- Was the flight overdue?
- Would a SAR response be underway?
- What will others be doing if you have not turned up or reported in as expected?
Activating a beacon will provide valuable information to SAR authorities, especially if the landing site is a distance from the expected final location for the flight. Also, you will need to consider how long it will take for you to walk to the nearest source of communications so you can to ring authorities and alert them of your emergency situation.
Contact us immediately if you have inadvertently activated your beacon to avoid a SAR response being initiated.
Our aviation SAR phone number—1800 815 257
For more information or to register your beacon visit the beacons website or phone 02 6279 5000.
Post-flight checks
Cancelling SARTIMEs and reporting arrivals
Failure to cancel SARTIMEs or failure to report arrival alerts can inadvertently activate the SAR system, potentially diverting search and rescue resources and personnel from real distress situations. This is a significant overhead for both Airservices Australia and us.
As the pilot in command you are responsible for cancelling your SARTIME.
We recommend the following ways to avoid this situation:
- include a step to cancel a SARTIME in your shutdown checks
- set an alarm on your watch or mobile phone 5 minutes prior to the nominated SARTIME
- always review your SARTIME in flight and amend if required
- if you change aircraft or have cancelled or replanned a flight at the last moment, check if your SARTIME is still active
- if you are an instructor, emphasise to your students the importance of cancelling your SARTIME.
Only the pilot in command or an AMSA Search and Rescue Officer are authorised to cancel a SARTIME.
Incidental information that the aircraft has arrived safely at its destination cannot be used to cancel a SARTIME. Instead, this information is passed to us by the Airservices Australia CENSAR operator, along with the statement of the phase. We then take whatever action is required to ensure the aircraft has arrived safely.
A SARTIME can be cancelled via the same methods used to lodge a SARTIME as follows:
You can cancel a SARTIME via the following methods:
- online—NAIPS Internet Service (NIS) provides automatic confirmation of successful flight notification. Make sure that you have received a confirmation to ensure your SARTIME was submitted correctly.
- phone—phone Airservices Australia on 1800 814 931 to lodge, cancel or amend a SARTIME.
- radio—when the above methods are unavailable, a SARTIME can be lodged, cancelled or amended by VHF or HF radio. This method is only recommended when the above methods are unavailable as there may be some delays due to operator workload or HF interference.
SARTIME phraseology for radio
When lodging or amending SARTIME details over the radio, always begin your transmission with the phrase 'SARTIME details'. Then wait for the operator to ask you to go ahead. At the end of your flight, use the phrase 'cancel SARTIME'. Other phrases such as 'cancel SAR' do not clearly distinguish between VFR and IFR flights and may confuse air traffic services operators.
Contact us if you have questions or need further information.