EXTENSIONS of REMARKS · April 10, 1968 EXTENSIONS of REMARKS Emergency Aircraft Radio Location In List
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9638 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS · April 10, 1968 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS Emergency Aircraft Radio Location In list. He was killed in 1965. The crash occurred Rescue and Recovery Service was "inaugu only about 33 miles from our home airport rated in October of 1961, extending through strumentation: "Seek You, Seek You" on a heavily timbered mesa. Searchers esti December 31, 1967. I might add, also, had mated they :flew over the spot at least 20 I continued the period through the month times but could not see a sign of the plane of January, 1968, I would have added two ·HON. GORDON ALLOTT because of the way it had dived into the more missing planes in my own -state of OF COLORADO timber." Colorado. One of these has been missing IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES This was a letter to the Editor of "Aero since the first day of January, piloted by a West" Magazine from one of my constituents Longmont, Colorado, doctor; and the sec Wednesday, April 10, 1968 in Gunnison, Colorado. ond plane has been missing since January 12 Mr. ALLOTT. Mr. President, a recent "C.Q." ("Seek-You") has been the familiar. with four members of a Chicago faxnlly call of "Ham" radio operators the world over aboard. speech by my colleague from Colorado seeking contact with whomever might be The crosses on the map represent the gen [Mr. DoMINICK] has come to my atten listening. In the phonetic sense, it very well eral areas where searches have been con tion. I believe his remarks merit the fits the theme of this conference. For we are ducted by the Aerospace Rescue and Recov consideration of the Senate. I ask unani seeking to make it easier to find an aircraft ery Service, Civil Air Patrol and Coast Guard, mous consent that Senator DoMINICK's and its occupants who may have encountered for these aircraft which have not been lo speech be printed in the RECORD at the an emergency situation and have been forced cated during the past six years. to attempt an emergency landing away from I would like to point out that the Eastern conclusion of my remarks. any airport, and very likely in "an unfriendly Region-not the Western Region-has the The address was delivered on Wednes environment." If the emergency occurs in greater number of missing aircraft. Florida day, April 3, before the National Con rough terrain, the likelihood of injury to the leads with 7 and possibly 8, since in -one case ference on Aircraft Locator Beacon Im occupants is high, and the dangers are com it is not certain whether the plane is lost in plementation, sponsored by the Radio pounded if adverse weather conditions pre Florida or Alabama. South Carolin-a has 5, Technical Commission for Aeronautics. vail in the area where the emergency oc followed by North Carolina which has 4 and The conference was attended by repre curred. Adverse weather not only endangers possibly 5 because it is not certain ln which sentatives of the member industries and the survival of injured and uninjured pas of 4 states one plane went down. Alabama, sengers alike, but can and often does in Tennessee, Kentucky and New York ·each Government agencies for the purpose of crease the hazards to the dedicated people have been involved in two multi-state studying the feasib111ty and desirability who risk their own lives while trying to help searches. of crash locator equipment to assist in those in distress. I think it is noteworthy that there are five search operations for downed aircraft. Our success in finding downed aircraft has aircraft that have never been found in the This has been assumed by many to be been fairly good, but in a number of in New York-New England area during the past a problem chiefly limited to areas such as stances we have failed tragically in locating five years. One is xnlssing in the relatively our own Rocky Mountain regions in the aircraft until weeks or months after the fiat, and certainly well populated state of Colorado. The data presented by Senator accident--too late to help those who survived Ohio! DoMINICK, however, repudiates this the accident but later perished from long In the Central Area, which includes Colo exposure in the hostile environment. Most rado and virtually all of the Continental theory and gives a clear picture of the recently, the nation was shocked to read in Divide, there are only ten of these completely national scope of the problem. the newspapers of the diary kept by 16-year lost aircraft. But, note that four of them are The response of the delegates to the old Carla Olen, documenting the two-month in the State of Michigan, one in Illinois and conference to Senator DoMINICK's pres long struggle of the three members of this one in Missouri. There is only one in the entation was enthusiastic in support of family to survive after their light plane went Rocky Mountain area, and there is some his recommendations to require emer down in the mountains of California on question whether it actually is in Colorado gency locator equipment for general avi March 11th last year. A deer hunter finally or Utah. If it is in Utah, that would put it happened upon the scene of the tragedy on in the Western Region. Wyoming, which is ation aircraft. This is particular signifi October 2nd---flix months too late! both mountainous and sparsely populated, cant upon examination of the members In my own state of Colorado, evidence has not had a downed aircraft which was not of the Radio Technical Commission for found at the scene indicated that Dr. W. ultimately located. Aeronautics-a list which includes the Randolph Lovelace and his wife survived the Washington and Oregon, together, lead the majority of our. major commercial air crash of their rented plane in December, 1965, Western Region in the number of .aircraft line companies, our major aircraft pro but died of exposure before they were found, which have not been found during the last ducers; industries such as mM, A.T. & T., even though countless hours were spent in five years. There are eight and perhaps nine Bell Telephone Laboratories, Ford Motor searching for them. And, as I recall, it was aircraft which have disappeared in these two during that search that we lost one of our states without a trace since October, 1961. Co., General Motors, Bunker-Ramo Civil Air Patrol planes piloted by an Air Again, note that Idaho and New M-exico, Corp., General Dynamics; aviation Force Sergeant from Lowry Air Force Base. both of which are mountainous and have groups such as the National Pilots Asso But, such tragedies are not limited to our large sparsely populated areas, have not had ciation, and the Aircraft OWners and Western states. In fact, you documented in a plane down which they have not been able Pilots Association; as well as the Depart your "System tor Downed Aircraft Location" to find. ments of the Air Force, Army, Navy, Ma study, published in January, 1965, the four Alaska, which is carried separately in the rine Corps, Commerce, State, Treasury, day struggle for survival of Drs. Mlller and statistics, has had eight aircraft which have and the Federal Communications Com Quinn, whose plane went down in the small completely disappeared since October, 1961. mission. state of Vermont on February 21, 1959, but There certainly has been no lack of effort was not found until May 5 of that year. Dr. to locate missing aircraft. Aerospace Rescue I commend Senator DoMINICK's re Miller kept a diary, too. It closed with: and Recovery Service records show that from marks to the attention of the Senate and "Goodby all. This is saving a lot of experi 1961 through December 31, 1967, a total of hope every Member will take into con ments, I hope." 215,404 hours of search have been conducted. sideration the continuing cost in terms I could cite other examples, but this map Of this total number of hours of search, of human suffering and in terms of ex tells the story more graphically. 135,835 hours-nearly two-thirds--were :flown pensive searching missions, as long as the Despite the tens of thousands of search by the Civil Air Patrol. 79,569 hours of search FAA delays in issuing the rule to require hours spent by the Civil Air Patrol, the Air were :flown by the Coast Guard and others Force, the Coast Guard and the FAA, planes during this period. The cost has been high, installation of aircraft locator equip and their occupants are still xnlssing in vari not only in terms of operational costs, but ment. ous parts of the country, not only in the also in terms of lives lost while searching for There being no objection, the speech Western Region. It strikes me that the FAA missing aircraft. In the last three years, was ordered to be printed in the RECORD; notice gives the false impression that the ARRS records show that two C.A.P. aircraft as follows: problem is centered in the Western Region. and four lives have been lost during search SEEK You, SEEK You This stems from the fact that in illustrating missions. In Colorado last year, w-e conducted the extent of the problem, the FAA on page 3 13 search Inissioru; for missing aircraft at .an (An address by PETER H. DOMINICK, U.S. of the Notice of Proposed Rule Making stated average cost of $2,916 each.