On Guard!

[Rhumbline]

As I said, I was probably exposing my ignorance.  It looks like the NOTAM was issued not long before I left the airlines.  All of the intercept procedures got hammered in during recurrent following 9/11 but the "on guard" thing eluded me.  I must've glossed over it in the PIFs if the company ever poignantly disseminated the information. 

 

Our SELCALs were the cheapest money wouldn't buy.  Not sure I ever received a valid notice... plenty of falsies.

[Mooney_Allegro]

I always monitor guard (121.5), however sometimes I need to turn it way way down due to all the chatter & primarily because my new GTN-650 keeps breaking squelch which lasts up to 45 seconds even after adjustments on all frequencies. At the airlines, we are required to monitor 121.5.

[mulro767]

In 2009 Northwest Flight 188 overflow it's intended landing of Minneapolis by 150 miles. I highly doubt that they were monitoring guard. The last frequency they had set in was from Denver center which was way out of range.

121.5 is almost always in range. It could've saved them.

[carusoam]

So what was the explanation of the tremendous over run without communicating?

Best regards,

-a-

[Bob - S50]

Perhaps I'm displaying some ignorance but I'm not familiar with "on guard".  On occasion ATC would ask us to monitor 121.5 for an ELT but that's about it.  We were required to monitor AIRINC or another company frequency at the carriers I worked for.  The last company I worked for was in the process of equipping the fleet with ACARS but, as I recall, the requirement to monitor AIRINC remained.  

"Guard" is the emergency frequency, 121.5 and/or 243.0  On military radios one of the knobs was labeled guard and we were able to monitor guard while talking on another frequency with ATC.  We just developed the habit of calling it guard.

 

Bob

[Bob - S50]

Most crews do monitor 121.5. I was just pointing out that legally, the ommercial carriers are bound by their ops specs which may make other provisions than monitoring 121.5. Legally, my former carrier has no requirement as long as company selcal works.

When that NWA crew over-flew MSP, I could never figure out how they managed to ignore selcal!

I'm pretty sure the A320 doesn't have selcal but they do have ACARS.

 

Bob

[Bob - S50]

  I heard an ELT ( maybe 5 seconds long) go off and initially just figured that someone in the neighborhood had just landed hard..... till the nearby Air force base transmitted in the blind to "anyone who had heard a recent ELT".

 

  Turned out to be a C130....everyone on board died.....................   Kinda hard for me to monitor 121.5 anymore.   mike

I've actually heard someone holler mayday as they lost their engine and then a couple minutes report they were down safely.  Sometimes its good to be able to tell ATC they survived and to send help.

 

Another time we heard a solo student that was lost calling for help.  We asked where he thought he might be, asked ATC for a frequency for him, and got him in contact with ATC.  He was only about 5 miles off course.  Another good reason to monitor 121.5.

 

Bob

[mike28w]

I've actually heard someone holler mayday as they lost their engine and then a couple minutes report they were down safely.  Sometimes its good to be able to tell ATC they survived and to send help.

 

Another time we heard a solo student that was lost calling for help.  We asked where he thought he might be, asked ATC for a frequency for him, and got him in contact with ATC.  He was only about 5 miles off course.  Another good reason to monitor 121.5.

 

Bob

  Very good points !   mike

[Mooneymite]

  Very good points !   mike

The most important reason is that since the US government (in its wisdom) stopped satelite monitoring of 121.5, flying aircraft are the most effective monitors of ELT's now.  If WE don't monitor 121.5, we might as well throw our 121.5/243.0 ELT's away.  Ground station monitoring of guard won't help unless you just happen to crash near a ground station.

[slowflyin]

I'm in the 121.5 on Comm 2 crowd unless I'm picking up weather....      I called in an ELT over the Dismal swamp a couple of years back.  I never new the outcome.   I was so strong I thought it was my ELT raising cane.    

[Mooneymite]

Oh!  One more really good reason to monitor 121.5 on your "other" radio:  if your ELT has activate (maybe from that "less than perfect landing" you just made  ), you hear it and avoid an embarrassing visit from the CAP.