One of the Missions of the Civil Air Patrol is that of Search and Rescue, quite often we will be called upon to search for an aircraft that is in distress. When an aircraft goes down they are located in a number of ways one of which is by monitoring a radio signal eminating from a device referred to as an ELT. The Civil Air Patrol flies the majority of hours flown on search and rescue missions in the United States directed by the Air Force Rescue and Coordination Center (AFRCC). When a small aircraft is missing or a satellite monitored by the AFRCC picks up the signal from an Electronic Locator Transmitter (ELT), the CAP jumps into action.
Click on the image below to hear what an ELT sounds like.