August, 2004

MEDIA ALERT: Second PLB Rescue Aided by ACR's 406 PLB

Note To Editors: Outdoorsman Robert Williams activated his Personal Locator Beacon (ACR Model #2792) on June 8th, 2004 during a solo canoe trip down the Yukon River. Below is a synopsis of the event and media contact information.

What: Second PLB Rescue Aided by ACR’s 406 PLB
When: June 8th, 2004
Where: On the Yukon River near Whitehorse Canada
Who: Robert Williams, 62, a retired machinist from Sequim, Washington

The ACR 406 Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) saved the day June 8th for Robert Williams, a solo canoeist on the Yukon River who suddenly was faced with surviving the elements of nature.

Just four days into a planned three-month canoe trip, Williams found himself near Whitehorse in a situation with no way out. After paddling for several hours, Williams apparently fell asleep and then inadvertently flipped his canoe. He quickly awoke finding himself in near-freezing water, hanging onto his partially submerged canoe and flowing rapidly down the Yukon where bluffs bordered each bank. After a half-hour, Williams was able to locate shallow water where he managed to bail out and re-board the canoe. His hands were numb, he was deeply fatigued and was spitting up blood. He continued down river where he eventually found a shore landing on a sandbar. It was then-- as he continued to spit up more blood-- that he decided that his life was in peril. He then reached inside his raincoat to activate a recently purchased emergency signaling device-- an ACR 406 MHz Personal Locator Beacon. Totally exhausted, Williams then laid back and rested for the next several hours.

On 08 June 2004 at 1844 UTC, the USMCC distress alert system detected a 406 MHz PLB at 61 56N, 135 02W, near Whitehorse, Canada. The alert was processed with the normal COSPAS-SARSAT efficiency and arrived at the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC) within minutes as a registered, unlocated alert.

Shortly thereafter the Doppler positions were provided to the AFRCC. The primary position was located in the Canadian Yukon along the Yukon River.

Williams, after purchasing his beacon, had provided a detailed float plan in the comment section of his registration with start and end dates along with departure and completion locations. This thorough registration information along with the Doppler coordinates gave the AFRCC watchstander confirmation that this alert was indeed an emergency. The watchstander then passed along both the Doppler positions and registration information to Canada's JRCC in Victoria. By now additional satellite passes had refined the position of the distress signal and it was positively located to 60 miles from Whitehorse in the Canadian Yukon. JRCC Victoria passed the distress information to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) at Whitehorse.

The RCMP dispatched a local Search and Rescue boat team (manned by SAR volunteers George Kontogonis and Bob Cochron with RCMP Officer Brian Pilatzke), which located a very cold and very weary Williams. From initial activation to rescue, four-and-a-half hours had elapsed. A grateful Williams was taken to a nursing station in Carmacks, British Colombia, where he was examined and released.

Personal Locator Beacons have become highly visible to the public since a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) waiver ruling went into effect last July approving the sale and use of PLBs for land use in the United States. The 406 PLB manufactured by Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based ACR Electronics, Inc. was the first such beacon to achieve stringent FCC approvals with hundreds sold to consumers since the ruling. ACR’s PLB is designed for any outdoor enthusiast traveling away from civilization, where location and assistance may be difficult. This group includes campers, hikers, climbers, canoeists, hunters, snowmobilers and aviators.

Williams, who had completed a similar 460-mile canoe trip down the Yukon two years earlier, had read about the new PLB technology in a national outdoor magazine last summer. After reading the story and speaking with the writer, Williams decided to purchase an ACR PLB model.

A PLB should only be used as your last resort for being rescued, when the situation is deemed to be grave and imminent, where all other means of self-rescue have been exhausted. Grave and imminent is defined as being in a situation where loss of life, limb, eyesight or property will occur without the assistance of rescue forces.

Register your beacon online at www.beaconregistration.noaa.gov  (http://www.beaconregistration.noaa.gov/) and update each time you travel by boat, including the number of people in your party, any significant medical conditions of those on board or other information that would aid rescuers in the event of an emergency.

"Robert Williams is a good example of a responsible PLB owner," said Paul Hardin, executive vice president of sales and marketing for ACR Electronics, Inc., a global firm specializing in the design and manufacture of safety and survival technologies for the marine, outdoors, aviation and military industries. "He did everything according to the book and then some."

Williams, according to authorities, exhibited responsible usage by activating the beacon.

"He asked himself the all-important question "Am I safe?" and "Will I survive the coming night?" reported Captain Joe Palfy, Air Coordinator of JRCC Victoria. He was unable to answer either question with confidence and therefore decided to self-activate his PLB.

The ACR GyPSI PLB allows a GPS interface that narrows the search area considerably to just .057 m (110 yards). If no GPS data is loaded into the PLB (as was the case for Williams), the traditional COSPAS-SARSAT satellites pinpoint the PLB’s location to within 2.3 m. From there, a local homing frequency 121.5, which is built into the PLB, aids in pinpointing the victim’s location.

According to Hardin, ACR’s emergency transmitting beacons have recently outperformed the competition and received rave reviews in two independent tests.

"Our beacons enjoy a tremendous reputation for quality in the marine and aviation industries, and now, in an outdoor environment as well. We build quality products knowing they are used save lives."

The ACR PLB is compact and lightweight. Weighing just 17.6 oz (499 g) and measuring 1.9 x 6.5 x 3.8 in (4.8 x 16.5 x 9.6 cm), it’s easy to pack or carry.

The unit is also powered by a 5-year lithium battery, so it is capable of continual transmission for over 24 hours.

(Note: The company will soon be launching its newest generation beacon: The TerraFix™ 406 GPS, the smallest, lightest and most functional GPS capable PLBs in the world).