Adapting Nautical Technology for Aircraft Emergency Location Tracking in a Maritime Environment

This paper discusses an investigation into retrofitting a standard nautical Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) on aicraft. The proposed solution will eject the EPIRB automatically away from the aircraft prior to water impact to ensure that it falls clear of any debris. For this system to be accepted by aircraft operators the retrofit needs to be cost effective and reliable with additionaly consideration being required for maintenance and installation. The selected location cannot interfere with the existing aircraft structural integrity and performance so as to avoid costly certification. The EPIRB ejecrion system will need to activate automatically under pre-determined conditions so as to allow succesful deployment of the EPIRB even if the aircraft breaks apart during descent. Once the beacon is in water the EPIRB will begin to transit GPS coordinates so its position is able to be tracked as it drifts on ocean currents.