SAR and Byers

[Kirkhill]

Given all the taxes and user fees one faces just for landing and taking off at a commercial airfield why not just add one more user fee:

A SAR tax for aircraft and boats. 

A SAR tax that could be reduced/eliminated if SAR insurance were carried.  SAR premiums that could be reduced with appropriate beacons.

There used to be private Fire Services funded by insurance companies, and I believe in some countries that is still part of the model.  While I would argue against private Fire Services because everyone owns a house and one burning house puts the neighbourhood at risk, most SAR involved incidents only involve the individuals that voluntarily and knowingly put themselves at risk.

If you are a commercial pilot or boat owner or tour operator it would just be another cost of business.

 

[SeaKingTacco]

The commercial operators are not usually the guys we spend days looking for. And they already have all the appropriate beacons.

 

[Posthumane]

As a private aircraft owner who recently upgraded to a 406 MHz ELT, I'd like to chime in on the issue.

The cost issue is relative. Sure, a $1000 upgrade which may one day save your life seems like a no brainer, but the ELT is usually not the piece of kit that is at the front of most owner's minds. Most would prefer to not have to use SAR assets at all, so upgrades and repairs to other systems on the plane usually come first. The ELT upgrade is usually close to the bottom of the priority list, after keeping the plane running and being able to navigate, etc. so it only makes the cut when additional funding allows.
The other issue that was brought up quite often is that, while the 406 MHz system offers a substantial increase in capability over 121.5 MHz ELTs, it's been found to be less than stellar compared to lower priced items such as satellite based trackers (i.e. SPOT), PLBs, sat-phones, and so on.
Ideally every owner would have a 406 ELT, and a sat phone, and a SPOT tracker, and the latest and greatest in navigation, weather, and anti-icing systems... but resources are always limited so one has to prioritize.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

We tried to get a fee attached to boat licenses to help cover the cost of clean of derelict boats, but that flies in the face of the Service Fee Act.

I have seen the costing of SAR for aircraft vs marine and the cost of finding one aircraft is staggering and about 3 times that budgeted for finding a boat.

SPOT is successful because it hangs it's hat on an existing system and offers a fairly reliable, simple to use product at a good price point, it's also more versatile than a 406 ELT.