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AFRCC supports 2009 Sun 'n Fun fly-in

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Jared Scott
  • 601st AOC Public Affairs
LAKELAND, Fla --  Extra measures were taken by First Air Force units to help speed search and rescue services to pilots flying here for the 2009 Sun 'n Fun fly-in.

The Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, located in the 601st Air and Space Operations Center at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., opened a precautionary mission with the Civil Air Patrol to enhance the ability to respond to emergency locator transmitter activations or missing/overdue aircraft in conjunction with the fly-in.

Sun 'n Fun is one of several major general aviation events conducted each year in the United States and has been held in Lakeland for the past 35 years. This year's event ran from April 21-26 and included almost 5,000 static display aircraft, more than 500 commercial exhibits, and nearly 450 educational forums.

"Anytime you have a large number of pilots flying into the same area at the same time, the room for a possible incident grows," said Capt. Bob Nichols, an AFRCC watch supervisor. "We were not called upon for this event, but if and when the call comes, we're ready and prepared to provide search and rescue assistance to pilots in distress."

Throughout the week, AFRCC coordinated with the Florida Civil Air Patrol to resolve reports of overdue aircraft and silence numerous ELTs that were mistakenly activated.

Last year, AFRCC conducted more than 2,300 missions, which resulted in 190 lives saved, according to the AFRCC's 2008 annual report.

"We work with the Civil Air Patrol on a daily basis and especially during major aviation events like this year's Sun 'n Fun," said Capt. David Hern, AFRCC chief of current operations. "We rely on CAP for more than 90 percent of our search and rescue missions."

Additionally, AFRCC team traveled to Lakeland's annual air show to educate general aviation pilots and enthusiasts on search and rescue operations in the U.S. and the phase-out of 121.5/243.0 MHz ELT activation notification by the international search and rescue satellite system.

"The transition from 121.5/243.0 to 406 [MHz] frequency was a big deal this year since all search and rescue satellites no longer monitoring 121.5/243.0 [MHz] frequency as of this past February," said Capt. Nichols. "We are encouraging pilots to utilize the 406 frequency transmitters because they greatly enhance our search and rescue capabilities. The ELTs give us a much smaller search area allowing us to more quickly respond to distress calls and save more lives."

As the United States Inland SAR Coordinator, AFRCC serves as the single agency responsible for coordinating federal SAR activities in the 48 contiguous United States.

The center operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and directly ties in to the Federal Aviation Administration's alerting system and the U.S. Mission Control Center. In addition to Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking information, AFRCC's computer system contains resource files that list federal and state organizations which can conduct or assist in SAR efforts throughout North America.

"Sun 'n Fun is a great opportunity for us to reach out to aviators and talk to them one on one about the AFRCC's role in search and rescue as it pertains to general aviation," said Capt. Hern. "This was a great experience and I look forward to coming back next year."