What happened
On 13 December 2000, a Cessna 152, registration G-BHPX, was conducting a flight from Inverness to Benbecula. The flight was occurring enroute to its destination when the accident took place. An amendment to the original investigation records indicates that the time of the occurrence was 1600 hrs, rather than the previously stated 1500 hrs.
The investigation
During the review of the accident documentation, the AAIB addressed technical information regarding the functionality and types of Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELTs). The investigation established the different categories of radio distress beacons used for search and rescue (SAR) operations, including aviation-specific ELTs, maritime EPIRBs, and personal PLBs.
Technical details were clarified regarding the operation of various ELT types, such as Automatic Fixed, Automatic Portable, Survival, and Automatic Deployable units. The investigation also noted the transition in satellite detection capabilities, specifically the shift in the COSPAS/SARSAT system toward the 406.0 to 406.1 MHz band and the phasing out of 121.5 and 243 MHz frequency processing.