Stevens plane crash: Beacon went off, but couldn’t broadcast signal

Here are some additional details on the findings NTSB released in its preliminary report of the Aug. 9 plane crash near Dillingham that killed five people, including former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, and injured four others.

One question has been why no emergency signal was detected from the plane when it was reportedly equipped with a beacon designed to go off in the event of a crash. Hours went by before anyone noticed the plane and its GCI lodge passengers en route to an afternoon of fishing had gone missing. It was only after a call was placed to find out if the group would return in time for dinner that anyone learned something might be wrong. The plane never showed up at the fish camp and staff there assumed the guests had made other plans.

Although it doesn't state so explicitly in its preliminary report, the NTSB has since confirmed that "the device was triggered," said Peter Knudson, a spokesperson for the NTSB. But "the signal was not broadcast because the unit had become disconnected from the antenna."

The antenna's cable was found separated from the plane's ARTEX ME-406 emergency locator transmitter, and during impact the beacon had also separated from its mounting bracket, according to the NTSB's first official report, published Tuesday night.

Good Samaritans, including a doctor, spent the night inside the plane waiting with four badly injured survivors until daylight, when military rescuers had a chance to cut through the rain and fog to reach them. While a functional beacon may have brought help to the site sooner, the state medical examiner determined that a faster rescue wouldn't have saved lives -- the deceased had suffered injuries from which they could not have survived.