An ELT Signal Monitoring and Alarm System

The Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) is capable of transmitting distress signals when an aircraft is in distress, providing important clues for search and rescue (SAR). According to the regulations of Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), the ELT of aircrafts operating in China must transmit emergency signal by both 121.5MHz and 406MHz. At present, the civil aviation air traffic control (ATC) in China cannot accurately and efficiently obtain alarms from aircraft in distress because of the different way of receiving the two signals. In order to solve the current problem, an ELT signal monitoring and alarm system is proposed. It can provide an ability of monitoring 121.5MHz and 406MHz ELT signals at the same time, and obtain more information of aircraft in distress by matching the ELT signal and ELT database. This is a more effective way to monitor aircraft in distress than the Global Satellite Search and Rescue System (COSPAS-SARSAT) does. Currently, it is being tested and verified in Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport.