NTSB Press Release  National Transportation Safety Board Office
of Public Affairs  NTSB Issues Recommendations Dealing With
Emergency Locator Transmitters in General Aviation Aircraft
Following Crash Involving Senator Stevens  January 5, 2011
WASHINGTON - The National Transportation Safety Board today
issued two safety recommendations to the Federal Aviation
Administration requiring a detailed inspection of all emergency
locator transmitters (ELT) installed on general aviation
aircraft to ensure that their mountings maintain their retention
capabilities during an accident sequence.  An ELT is designed to
broadcast a signal through an externally mounted antenna that
contains the aircraft's registration information and the global
positioning system coordinates of the original signal. Also, the
"homing signal" can be detected locally by other aircraft, air
traffic control facilities, or rescue personnel who use a
compatible receiver.  "In this case, the airplane was equipped
with a functioning 406 megahertz ELT