Bloomberg reports new information regarding the airplane accident that killed former U.S. Senator Ted Stevens. An investigation has concluded that rescuers could have reached the site of the crash many hours earlier if a mechanism designed to alert them had correctly worked.
The aircraft had a transmitter that is designed to indicate its position via satellite to air-traffic controllers, other aircraft, and emergency personnel with compatible receivers. While the plane’s transmitter was working, it had come apart from an antenna and mounting bracket, so signals were not received.
The Alaska airplane accident occurred around 2:40 p.m. on August 9, 2010 into a mountainside about 10 miles northeast of Aleknagik and killed five of nine passengers aboard the DeHavilland DHC-3T plane that was built in 1957. Rescuers did not locate the aircraft until about 7:30 p.m. Unfortunately, the night and poor weather conditions did not allow rescuers to get to the plane until the following day. According to the NTSB, if the transmitter had not become detached, it is probable that the signal would have been identified sooner and rescuers could have then been directly dispatched to the crash site hours earlier. The NTSB did not state whether more victims could have survived if a rescue had been sooner.
The findings of the investigation have prompted the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to recommend that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) require small aircraft operators to make sure transmitters are mounted properly during yearly inspections. The NTSB also recommended that the FAA conduct an investigation of their own to determine if their mounting requirements are sufficient. U.S. safety investigators have stated they wish to immediately begin inspections of thousands of private aircraft to guarantee onboard transmitters are properly secured.
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