Watching some of the coverage of the missing Titan submersible (the one that was diving on the Titanic) I wondered, if as much effort would be put into finding a downed GA aircraft crossing the Atlantic if it ditched in a remote location outside heli range?
To be clear, I’m not asking a rhetorical question! I’m asking a genuine question and I’d be interested to know if that much effort is put into finding a missing GA aircraft.
If there isn’t, then that indeed may be reasonable too for a number of reason:
- In this case the location is reasonably well known, in that they were diving on a known location. In GA cases, it could be contact lost sometime in the previous hour which could span more than 100 nm.
- There are 5 people onboard, compared to typically 1 in a GA Atlantic crossing.
- There is a reasonable prospect of the people in the sub being alive for a number of days.
So I’m not trying to make a point. Just curious what happens in practice for missing transatlantic GA flights that either go missing or declare that they are about to ditch.
I do seem to remember one a few years ago where they knew in advance that they were going to ditch (fuel starvation or exhaustion) and the coast guard was able to fly along side and drop life rafts etc just after they ditched.
I think ICAO has a obligation to states to provide SAR on one’s FIR.
Typically,
At closer ranges, a helicopter can be sent.
IIRC, there is a map in the portugal AIP of their SAR ranges (I can’t check now)
Some helicopters can refuel while hovering over ships if the suitable ship is at the right place :
Few years ago, a skipper on a RTW race called for rescue near Antarctica. A French Navy ship took 5 days at full speed to join him in rough seas.
Story from Wikipedia :
Since 2016, the FS Nivôse has been pre-positioned off the Kerguelen Islands to carry out emergency missions in the southern Indian Ocean for the Vendée Globe competitors, the solo, unassisted and non-stop offshore race.
During the 2020 edition of the Vendée Globe, the Nivôse, under the command of Captain (Navy) Barbe, recovered on 6 December, by transhipment on RHIB, the navigator Kevin Escoffier rescued at sea on 1 December by Jean Le Cam, after the loss of his PRB boat twelve hours before, who can’t keep him aboard Yes We Cam! to continue his course.
That said, one’s chances in such a ditching would be minimal to say the least 
I think efforts would be made – but I don’t think they would be as extensive. Largely for reasons that you mentioned, but also for the profile of some of the people involved.
There was some question after the Emiliano Sala plane crash about search efforts for the pilot after the footballer was found. There is also this week a swimmer missing in the channel. I am not suggesting that they could or should be doing more, but this is a person whos exact last whereabouts are known, missing in an easily accesible body of water for a day and a half in the summer before search was called off.
I think that the effort in such cases largely depends on the ‘importance’ of the people concerned and how high-profile the whole thing is.
Taking submersibles down to the Titanic wreck is relatively novel and newsworthy. A private light GA aircraft crossing an ocean – not so much – and I doubt much would be mobilised if one went down.
There was some question after the Emiliano Sala plane crash about search efforts for the pilot after the footballer was found
IMHO the CAA didn’t want to raise that wreck even though its location was known because they knew by then that the passenger’s body had a load of carbon monoxide in it, and raising it would open up a can of worms with the maintenance of the aircraft, which would dilute/diffuse/make impossible the prosecution of the easy target – Henderson the “operator”. The CAA is always reluctant to go after a maintenance company, because they get hefty licensing fees from that industry, and the CAA inspectors are sometimes very friendly with the companies. One CAA inspector suggested to me to visit a dodgy company, issuing fake documentation for a mag overhaul, and sort it out with them over a cup of tea. I should still have his email… Clearly he enjoys a cup of tea with them too 
So all kinds of factors might play a part in the decision.
Most GA wrecks, with bodies, are not raised or even searched for beyond a quick air search for floating whatever. I’ve lost count of such AAIB reports.
Watching some of the coverage of the missing Titan submersible
I reckon, given the billion-$ wealth, there will be huge life insurance claims if the people die, so anybody searching knows there will be a nice payment if they find them alive. The money will have been agreed before any private search ventures started.
It depends where you ditch. I know someone who had a double engine failure in a twin and ditched in the Irish Sea. The plane sank near some interconnects of the gas rigs, and Centrica insisted the aircraft be moved in case it drifted with the currents and caused damage (the aircraft ultimately ended up in the AAIB’s hands).
The aircraft owner’s insurance also tried its best to wriggle out of paying too, despite this quite clearly being what liability insurance is for, and Centrica was trying to go after the owners for the cost of sending divers down etc.
And no, the plane didn’t run out of fuel – the AAIB found a reasonable quantity of fuel still in the tanks after the plane was raised from the bottom of the sea!
By contrast, the guy who lost control in fairly poor weather when he tried to fly from Ronaldsway to Blackpool (on a day that ended up with the worst weather I can remember from recent years – so bad that a bus ended up in a river when the bridge it was travelling over was swept away) didn’t get any such attention. In the end it was the bereaved family who spent the money to recover the wreck looking for answers beyond “non-instrument rated pilot lost control in IMC”.
As far as rescue is concerned near Ireland or the UK, we are very fortunate to have the RNLI who will attempt a rescue pretty much no questions asked and no judgments made.
US rescue helicopters can refuel from C130 tankers. I don’t know about others. I think the rescue services are good – if they are informed.
Wealth doesn’t come into it.
The information chain does.
I think there was one significant difference between the usual GA accident on sea and what transpired here and it has not much to do with the wealth of the occupants.
Up to a few hours ago, this was a search and RESCUE mission. They heard knocking sounds, there was a realistic chance that if the submarine had simply been blocked somewhere or disabled, that those inside were still alive.
And while human lifes can be saved, all gloves come off. That is why that huge effort was started.
And going down to the depths of Titanic is no easy feat either. There are preciously few submersibles, manned or unmanned, which can do that. That they found the wreck so fast is a huge achievement. But on the other hand, they also knew where to look.
In an airplane accident, we are talking about an object impacting water. Again, time counts, but even in submersion suits, the time frame is much shorter than with a SUV sized submersible. But never the less, SAR efforts will be launched until it is clear that there either has been a rescue or that there wonˆt be one.
That Rear admiral today said that they will start pulling back ressources but will remain there with the submersibles to collect data. This is a)necessary to figure out the reason why this happened but b) also a very interesting exercise, if you consider what kind of submarines usually are found in those depths.
As for SAR, I think in any case where people think there is a chance humans can be found, the maximum effort will be launches, particularly in Canadian or US waters or their proximity, regardless who is involved. Recovery is a totally different matter. Once lifes are no longer on the line, a recovery only pais off if significant gathering of knowledge can be expected. Hence, lots of submarine wrecks are still on the bottom of the sea. And similarily, by far not all airplane wrecks are recovered either.
Mooney_Driver wrote:
Up to a few hours ago, this was a search and RESCUE mission. They heard knocking sounds, there was a realistic chance that if the submarine had simply been blocked somewhere or disabled, that those inside were still alive.And while human lifes can be saved, all gloves come off. That is why that huge effort was started.
An interesting comment.
In addition to a PLB, I’ve always packed my handheld transceiver. My thinking was if the S&R heli was looking for me and flying by unable to spot my head in the water (as apparently has happened in a number of cases) I could at least direct them with a handheld radio.
Also I could summon help from an over flying aircraft, particularly so if I wasn’t sure that my mayday had been received (often out of radio contact on my Scottish trips). Or simply being updated would help keep my spirits up.
So this adds a new line of thought. If they know that I’m still alive (because they have messages from me) they won’t give up the search. While if they don’t know I’m still alive, they might well call it off.
dublinpilot wrote:
If they know that I’m still alive (because they have messages from me) they won’t give up the search.
Correct. Saving lives is priority 1, and it doesn’t matter if it’s a submarine or a canoe. If there are no lives to be saved, it all boils down to money and recourses.
