Is there a pilots emergency landing phone app!

kontiki

kontiki

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Kontiki
Just going through some training notes trying to read my own handwriting, not sure if this was a heads up or an idea.
Is there an app a pilot you would activate in an emergency that would auto dial someone with a message about flight plan and maybe phones GPS position?
 
kontiki said:
Just going through some training notes trying to read my own handwriting, not sure if this was a heads up or an idea.
Is there an app a pilot you would activate in an emergency that would auto dial someone with a message about flight plan and maybe phones GPS position?
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Here you go:

1724531486609.png
 
I use FlightAware notification page. https://www.flightaware.com/me/

Works by sending a text to someones phone every time the aircraft stops flying. It can be set up to text or email every time the ADS-b equipped aircraft takes-off also. Pick a person that you want to receive the text and set their phone up.
 
kontiki said:
Just going through some training notes trying to read my own handwriting, not sure if this was a heads up or an idea.
Is there an app a pilot you would activate in an emergency that would auto dial someone with a message about flight plan and maybe phones GPS position?
Click to expand...
This can't be a serious post. If it is...damn.
 
"....there's an app for that!"

Remember those ads?
 
kontiki said:
Just going through some training notes trying to read my own handwriting, not sure if this was a heads up or an idea.
Is there an app a pilot you would activate in an emergency that would auto dial someone with a message about flight plan and maybe phones GPS position?
Click to expand...
You might want to check out SE-SAR: Surveillance Enhanced Search And Rescue at Leidos.

Home

www.1800wxbrief.com www.1800wxbrief.com
 
I just had an emergency landing last night. I was almost home and had just canceled my flight plan, so I wasn't talking to anyone. As soon as I figured out where I was going to land, and got things under control, I had to fumble through my app to find the tower frequency and give the "mayday" call. It all worked out in this case, but I agree that trying to navigate an app was a big distraction. If I didn't quickly find the frequency, I would have just landed anyway and sorted it out on the ground. As others have said, if it was an off-field landing, I would have let the ELT do its job.
 
Adam Weiss said:
I just had an emergency landing last night. I was almost home and had just canceled my flight plan, so I wasn't talking to anyone. As soon as I figured out where I was going to land, and got things under control, I had to fumble through my app to find the tower frequency and give the "mayday" call. It all worked out in this case, but I agree that trying to navigate an app was a big distraction. If I didn't quickly find the frequency, I would have just landed anyway and sorted it out on the ground. As others have said, if it was an off-field landing, I would have let the ELT do its job.
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Do tower controllers monitor 121.5 like enroute controllers do?
 
Adam Weiss said:
I just had an emergency landing last night. I was almost home and had just canceled my flight plan, so I wasn't talking to anyone. As soon as I figured out where I was going to land, and got things under control, I had to fumble through my app to find the tower frequency and give the "mayday" call. It all worked out in this case, but I agree that trying to navigate an app was a big distraction. If I didn't quickly find the frequency, I would have just landed anyway and sorted it out on the ground. As others have said, if it was an off-field landing, I would have let the ELT do its job.
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Sorry that happened and glad it turned out ok. I’m curious why you didn’t mayday on 21.5? Not being snarky - questioning my own emergency thinking/procedures.

My view has always been that, once past the immediate aviate and navigate, 7700 will be my first communicate step. Somewhere, I am turning red on someone’s screen who is paying attention and they get all critical info (emergency, location, altitude, tail number). If time allows, mayday on 121.5 which some combo of ATC, Unicom, and other traffic are monitoring.

My normal practice is 121.5 on sby, monitoring dual. I don’t hear the meow’s and Go Brandon crap as much lately - but more often than you might think, I hear “Big carrier 123 if you can hear this transmission, contact xyz center”. In my experience- it is absolutely being monitored and used.

I, fortunately, have never had to use my emergency procedures.
 
Learnin’ to fly… said:
My normal practice is 121.5 on sby, monitoring dual. I don’t hear the meow’s and Go Brandon crap as much lately - but more often than you might think, I hear “Big carrier 123 if you can hear this transmission, contact xyz center”. In my experience- it is absolutely being monitored and used.
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A few times I've reported an ELT to ATC. I never heard anything of them so hopefully they were malfunctions. There was one time I heard a mayday call from a 150 or 152 and relayed it to ATC. A passing airliner also heard it and served as go-between since ATC couldn't hear them directly. I later looked it up on Flightaware and looks like they made it back to the airport successfully.

But yeah, I hear a big carrier more often than not. Either ATC is trying to contact them or they've got the radio/panel configured wrong.
 
Well, if you are on a VFR cross country in a rental, you can always rely on the flight plan!
 
kontiki said:
Is there an app a pilot you would activate in an emergency that would auto dial someone with a message about flight plan and maybe phones GPS position?
Click to expand...
Have you ever paid attention to how often you phone does/does not have a useable signal while in flight?

My point is: Cell service is not reliable in the air or in the boonies. If you're really serious about such a function, Google "Personal Locator Beacon" or, to focus on those with messaging ability, "Personal Locator Messenger".

But also, in an emergency: Fly the plane.
 
Get 406 MHz ELT with connection to GPS or built in GPS. If you can do so, activate it on the way down. It talks directly to the rescue center.

Can also do this with a PLB (Personal Locator Beacon).

If you text you spouse, what are they going to do?
 
Every time that I had an inflight emergency, I had a radio tuned to a local ATC facility.

I never set 7700, as there was no need, but if I had no com radio ready to go, that would have been my choice, nice to have the radar painting you as unique.

ATC has always vectored me to the place that I decided was the best of the possibilities they offered, no arguments from them.

For complete electrical failure, a box under the seat contained an aviation GPS with all airports, nav aids, and a nearest search for my choice. After selecting an airport, the relevant frequencies were displayed, along with distance and direction. The box also contained a hand held comm with VOR capability. The backup battery had 2 ports, so both could be used at the same time, even if their internal batteries were exhausted.
 
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