Hunting for aircraft search and rescue success

For a detailed look at the evolution of the technology used to find downed planes, check out this story by Craig Medred. The first three paragraphs:

As the futile search for a single-engine floatplane missing with four aboard in remote Katmai National Park and Preserve drew to an end last week, many in Alaska were wondering if maybe there isn't a better way for locating downed aircraft in the far north.

National Transportation Safety Board Alaska director Jim Labelle noted the deHavilland Beaver -- owned by Branch River Air Service in King Salmon and missing since Aug. 21 -- was outfitted with an older model electronic locator transmitter instead of the new state-of-the-art 406Mhz ELT, but even he conceded there's no guarantee that a new ELT would have helped in the search.

An Otter owned by General Communications Inc. that went down just to the north of Katmai park on Aug. 9, killing former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, pilot Terry Smith, GCI executive Dana Tindall and two others, was equipped with such a transmitter, but it never sent out a signal strong enough to be detected by satellites passing overhead. As a result, four survivors of the wreck were left waiting more than four hours for help to arrive. NTSB investigators said the people who died in the crash perished on impact, so the delay did not contribute to their deaths. But there are no doubt circumstances that could arise in Alaska under which victims are likely to die because of stalled or unsuccessful searches -- something that might be prevented given new and better technology.