The search for the missing IAF transport aircraft AN-32 turned from challenging to impossible as its emergency beacons could have gone off by now.
The emergency transmitters give out distress signals from underwater in case of an accident.
The plane had two Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) beacons — an ARTEX C406-1 ELT from the United States’ ACR Electronics/Artex Products and a French-made portable KANNAD 406AS ELT from Orolia.
One of the ELTs was in the cockpit, while the other was at the tail. The beacon at the tail will automatically turn on if the aircraft hits the water surface with the force of 2.3g or a velocity of 4.5 feet per second.
The pilots should have turned on the cockpit ELT, but the fact that they did not do so suggests that the accident could have been unexpected.
Also, the beacons are unable to send out signals from underwater since they could do so only from above the ground or water surface.
Further, the beacons have a battery life of only 72 hours.
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