Personal Locator Beacon - USA

This following was published on 'AVweb' today about
Personal Locator Beacons:


Personal Locator Beacon Credited With First Lower-48
Rescue

A Cleveland man who got snowed in while camping in
the Adirondack Mountains in New York last week was
rescued by a UH-1 Huey helicopter thanks to the help
of his personal locator beacon (PLB). The rescue marks
the first such use of a PLB in the contiguous United
States. About 10 a.m. on Nov. 14, Carl Skalak, 55,
was faced with frigid weather, four-foot snow drifts
and a frozen river that he had paddled in on. He activated
his beacon, and after being routed through various
agencies, the helicopter was dispatched to his coordinates
with a medical team. 'I am profoundly thankful for
all those who were willing to put themselves in harm's
way on my behalf,' said Skalak. 'Many terrific people
worked together to make this mission a success.' The
system worked just as it was supposed to, said NOAA
officials. Prior to July, PLBs had only been available
for use in Alaska under a test program to evaluate
their usefulness in search and rescue. The success
seen in Alaska paved the way for the technology to
be used throughout the rest of the nation.