Good article on SAR coordination. It’s a complicated system with many players but letting everyone know exactly where you are can have a dramatic effect on search and rescue time. I have an ARTEX ME406 in my Maule and carry an ACR ResQLink 400 PLB and Garmin InReach Explorer SE in my survival vest. The ELT and PLB are registered with NOAA the InReach is registered with FAA Flight Service. I keep the information up to date. The InReach transmits my position to my family and the FAA (when on an IFR flight plan) every 10 minutes. I also have an ADS-B In/Out transponder in my airplane that transmits my position to the FAA every minute if I’m within line of sight of an ADS-B ground station or to another nearby aircraft equipped with ADS-B In. I subscribe to Garmin’s SAR insurance with my InReach. When I fly, I text my route and intended points of landing to my wife and daughters before I take off. All of this might sound like communications overkill, but I’ve been a CAP mission pilot and scout plane pilot for a State Forest Service for many years and there’s no such thing as overkill when it comes to SAR.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/features/reader-mail/top-letters-and-comments-august-4-2023