Civil Air Patrol

1. Civil Air Patrol The Official USAF Auxiliary Capt. Rangi Keen, CAP

2. Overview • What is the Civil Air Patrol (CAP)? • Our missions • How we are activated • Examples from real missions Civil Air Patrol

3. A Brief History • Formed on December 1st, 1941 • Wartime missions • Coastal and border patrol • Transport • Aerial Target Towing • Searchlight & Radar Training • Disaster Relief • Airfield and Resource Security Civil Air Patrol

4. CAP Today • The United States Air Force Auxiliary • A congressionally chartered non-combatant organization • 65,000 Civilian Volunteers • 35,000 Seniors (adults) • 30,000 Cadets • 52 Wings • 550 Corporate and 4,500 Member Aircraft Civil Air Patrol

5. CAP Missions • Aerospace Education • Cadet Program • Emergency Services • Search and Rescue • Disaster Relief • Emergency Communications • Homeland Security Civil Air Patrol

6. Search and Rescue (SAR) • Tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC) • Located at Langley AFB in Alabama • CAP conducts 95% of all inland SAR activities for downed aircraft • Credited with saving 140 lives last year Civil Air Patrol

7. Mission Activation • AFRCC is notified by the FAA, COSPAS-SARSAT, or other agencies • Once verified as an actual distress situation, AFRCC activates the appropriate search agencies, which may include CAP, Coast Guard, or other federal, state, or local agencies • All missions must go through AFRCC Civil Air Patrol

8. How can you speed it up? • In the event of an overdue aircraft, your dispatch center should contact the AFRCC directly as part of its Post Incident Action Plan. • AFRCC (800) 851-3051 • Give them the last known position and time, aircraft type and color, and souls and fuel on board. Civil Air Patrol

9. Survival Rates • 29% will survive a crash • 60% will be injured • 81% will die if not located within 24 hours • 94% will die if not located within 48 hours • 40% will be uninjured • 50% will die if not located within 72 hours • Survival chances diminish rapidly after 72 hours Civil Air Patrol

10. Response Times • Average time until activation • 15.6 hours if no flight plan was filed • 3.9 hours if a VFR flight plan was filed • 1.1 hours if an IFR flight plan was filed • Average time to find • 62.6 hours if no flight plan was filed • 18.2 hours if a VFR flight plan was filed • 11.5 hours if an IFR flight plan was filed Civil Air Patrol

11. The Elusive ELT • Automatic radio beacon (100 milliwatts) • Roughly equal to that of a regular flashlight • Can be heard on a line-of-sight basis. Civil Air Patrol

12. Types of ELTs • Three frequencies • 121.5 MHz (VHF) • 243 MHz (UHF – military) • 406.025 MHz (advanced with GPS) • General types • General aviation aircraft • Marine (EPIRB) • Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) Civil Air Patrol

13. The ELT Antenna • Most light aircraft have ELTs installed Civil Air Patrol

14. But… They don’t always survive Civil Air Patrol

15. ELT Activation • ELTs - activated by G-force • Requires 5-9 horizontal “Gs” • Some have a remote switch in the cockpit • EPIRBs - activated by a mercury switch • Float out of their holder and invert • PLBs - generally manually activated Civil Air Patrol

16. Inadvertent Activation • Hard landing • Inadvertent change of switch position • Removal of the unit without deactivation • Inadvertent activation of the manual switch • Dropping the unit can activate the G-switch • Malfunction • Switch short • Battery leakage or corrosion Civil Air Patrol

17. Who’s Listening • COSPAS-SARSAT • FAA Facilities • FSS, Centers, Towers • Airliners • Military Aircraft • General Aviation Aircraft • Signal report is relayed to AFRCC Civil Air Patrol

19. How SARSAT Works • Determines position using Doppler shift • Classic Doppler Example: the lowering of the pitch of a train’s horn as it passes by you • If you’re right near the track, this change is fast • If you’re farther away, the change is more gradual • A change in the frequency received by the satellite occurs at the Point of Closest Approach • For an overhead pass, this change is very abrupt • For an oblique pass, this change is more gradual • A higher frequency beacon gives a better shift • Hence 406 MHz beacons tend to be more accurate Civil Air Patrol

20. Determining the position Latitude Possible Location Distance • First pass gives a latitude • It could be either side of the satellite • Second pass determines the longitude • Average 30-45 minutes between passes • Positional error is typically elliptical • 6 NM North-South • 12 NM East-West Civil Air Patrol

21. 121.5 MHz 12 NM radius, 452 Sq Mi Average 6 Hour notification 75 mW transmitter 406 MHz 2 NM radius, 12.5 Sq Mi Average 1 hour notification 25 mW 121.5 transmitter 406 MHz with GPS 0.05 NM radius, 0.008 Sq Mi Average 5 minute notification 5 W data burst every 50 secs 25 mW 121.5 homing beacon System Accuracy 121.5 - 12 NM 406 - 2 NM 406 w/GPS - 0.05 NM Civil Air Patrol

22. False Alerts • 97% of all missions are false alerts • 121.5 MHz • 1 in 500 are actual distress (0.2%) • Only 1 in 5 come from beacons (20%) • 406 MHz • 1 in 12 are actual distress (8.3%) • Registration is required • Most alerts can be resolved with a phone call Civil Air Patrol

23. Search Methods • Electronic - Tracking the ELT • Fast: once we are receiving your signal, we can usually locate you to within 100 meters in less than 20 minutes • Can be performed in poor visibility and at night • Visual • Slow • Difficult • VFR only Civil Air Patrol

24. Search Teams • Airborne • Three-person air crews perform electronic and visual searches • Ground • Four-person teams perform electronic and visual searches • Work in all weather • Manpower intensive, need to localize search area to be successful • Work as a team with the air crews Civil Air Patrol

25. This is what we look for Civil Air Patrol

26. Crash with CAP on Scene Civil Air Patrol

27. Search Visibilities Civil Air Patrol

28. Crash From 800’ AGL Civil Air Patrol

29. Crash From 800’ AGL Civil Air Patrol

30. Crash From 1500’ AGL Civil Air Patrol

31. Crash From 800’ AGL Civil Air Patrol

32. Kearsarge Crash (July 2004) Civil Air Patrol

33. Kearsarge Crash (Overhead) Civil Air Patrol

34. Kearsarge Crash (Close-up) Civil Air Patrol

35. We Used ICS at Kearsarge • CAP uses the Incident Command System during all its missions • Provides for effective span of control and unity of command • Facilitates communication and cooperation with other agencies Civil Air Patrol

36. Posse Comitatus • We are not law enforcement • CAP members may not • Carry firearms • Participate in detention or arrest of persons or seizure of property • Conduct surveillance of personnel or equipment Civil Air Patrol

37. Posse Comitatus (Cont.) • CAP members may not be deputized • No authority to restrict persons by force • May provide passive assistance to law enforcement • Can do passive site surveillance • No trespassing allowed • No special dispensations Civil Air Patrol

38. Working Together • Call AFRCC at (800) 851-3051 • Search and rescue exercises (SAREXs) • Other ideas? Civil Air Patrol

39. For More Information • Web Sites • http://www.cap.gov/ • http://lebanon.nhwgcap.org/ • http://www.sarsat.noaa.gov/ • E-mail • CAP@buenokeen.com Civil Air Patrol