Tuesday, Mar 08, 2016 at 00:52
Peter's point is
well made. There is another vital case where a PLB is crucial - when you have a crash and end up
well off the road in vegetation or down an
embankment.
There have been multiple cases of car crashes where the vehicle was unable to be seen from the road and both passers-by and SAR people were unable to find the vehicle, even after reports came in, of a crashed vehicle.
In many cases, injured people have been unable to free themselves from the vehicle, or were injured badly enough to not be able to move any substantial distance. A PLB would have been of great use in many of these cases.
My BIL was Snr Sgt of
Northampton police station back in the late 90's and the
police got a report of a crashed vehicle North of
Northampton along the Gt Northern Highway.
The
police, with BIL in charge, went looking for the wreck.
Despite only moderate thickness of scrub and bushes, they were unable to find the vehicle.
The
police spent considerable time searching from their vehicle along the highway, looking for marks or crushed bushes - yet they sighted nothing that they thought was of value to the search.
They gave up, believing the original report was from a passer-by who had made a mistake, or who'd sighted something like an abandoned
car wreck from many years previous.
They went
home and told their superiors there was no
car wreck to be found. Then a couple of days later, someone phones in and reports a missing person who had been travelling North from
Northampton.
This person hadn't arrived at their destination further North, and they were normally very reliable.
The
police went back out to the original area where the crash was reported and utilised a bigger team and with aerial support.
There was a fresh wreck there, off the highway, and the
police in the air sighted it, and guided the ground team in.
The car had crashed off the road, become airborne and had virtually floated over the roadside vegetation and had ended up a long way off the highway, and it was virtually impossible to see from the highway, unless you were in an elevated position.
Investigation of the wreck found the driver deceased. Then the manure hit the fan, with the relatives claiming the driver could have been saved, if he'd been found in the initial search.
That is a moot point, but it's definitely a possible scenario.
It was never determined whether the driver died from a medical event that caused the crash, or whether he went to sleep, and ran off the road, and died as a result of the crash.
However, BIL got a severe rapping over the knuckles from his seniors, that he thought was undeserved. He reckoned they did all they could with the resources they had at the time - and it wasn't until more resources were thrown in, that the wreck was found.
Perhaps a PLB would have helped in this case - perhaps not. But carrying one would sure add a level of additional assistance.
Cheers, Ron.
AnswerID:
597150
Follow Up By: garrycol - Tuesday, Mar 08, 2016 at 10:35
Tuesday, Mar 08, 2016 at 10:35
What is a BIL?
FollowupID:
866151
Follow Up By: Ron N - Tuesday, Mar 08, 2016 at 11:32
Tuesday, Mar 08, 2016 at 11:32
Brother-In-Law.
FollowupID:
866152
Follow Up By: Member - Munji - Tuesday, Mar 08, 2016 at 17:19
Tuesday, Mar 08, 2016 at 17:19
Was your BIL initials BC
FollowupID:
866172
Follow Up By: garrycol - Tuesday, Mar 08, 2016 at 19:59
Tuesday, Mar 08, 2016 at 19:59
Never heard of that before - should expand when first used if not common. When I googled it I got "Baby In Love" and that didn't seem to circumstance.
FollowupID:
866183
Follow Up By: Ron N - Tuesday, Mar 08, 2016 at 21:20
Tuesday, Mar 08, 2016 at 21:20
"Was your BIL initials BC?"
Munji, that's correct. My wife's brother.
Cheers, Ron.
FollowupID:
866186