Glider accident near Altoona... interview with pilot

On May 14, 4:28*pm, ContestID67 wrote:
What seems really strange is the the rescurers didn't have a simple,
inexpensive, GPS so that they could zero in on the pilot quickly. *The
narrative indicates that the pilot had to guide them in via sound.
Even cell phones now have GPS. *This should be required equipment.

1. Did the PLB have a GPS?
2. Did the PLB have a GPS fix?

Foliage or other could mean a PLB with GPS is unable to get a fix.
That or if the PLB does not have a GPS then then SARSAT relies on
(significantly less precise) doppler location. It is also at least
plausible that an alert process can be started before a triangulation
fix established.

If the ground SAR crew had 121.1 direction finder that may also have
helped triangulate on the PLB 121.5 Mhz beacon (all 406 Mhz ELTs and
PLBs also have 121.5 Mhz homing beacons), but with heavy foliage/steep
terrain that may have been more work/slower than the airhorns.

Darryl