Kotzebue AK

Home

/

Survivor Stories

/

Kotzebue AK

Lives saved

2

Flying

Flying

River

River

Crash or collision

Crash or collision

Thunder storm

Thunder storm

Flying

Kotzebue AK

66.8983333°N, -162.5966666°W

Posted on May 2, 2018 by Lou

What happened?

On September 1st, my wife and I departed Kotzebue AK on a caribou hunting trip in the Noatak River drainage of the Brooks Range. We arrived over the Anisak River at about 3 pm, and began looking for a gravel bar suitable for landing. At about 3:30 pm, I attempted to land on a gravel bar, but ran off the end, into the river and flipped over. We both managed to make an underwater egress without injury, but most of our gear was wet, the instrument panel (with radios) was underwater, our handheld VHF radio was underwater, and our satellite phone was soaked and useless.

I managed to find our PLB-200 floating in the cockpit, and activated it. I also reached underwater and pressed the remote activation switch for the ME406 ELT. The ELT activated by means of the battery in the switch, even though the aircraft master switch was off, and the remote switch and its battery were submerged. I later determined that both 406 signals were received by the Elmendorf AFB Rescue Coordination Center in Anchorage, and the troopers were able to fly directly to us from Kotzebue. We were rescued just before 8 pm, preventing a night out with limited gear. It’s likely that we would have been out overnight if a search had to have been carried out based on our flight plan alone (which of necessity did not list a specific destination).

Words of wisdom

It’s likely that we would have been out overnight if a search had to have been carried out based on our flight plan alone (which of necessity did not list a specific destination).

Thank you note

Thank you ACR!

Rescue location

Kotzebue AK

Rescue team

Local Search and Rescue

ResQLink™

Go to product details

It may be small, but it's tough. The ResQLink™ PLB Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) is a GPS-enabled rescue beacon that's suited for outdoor adventures of all sizes (think: everything from hiking and cycling to hunting and fishing). Should you run into an unexpected situation, the ResQLink PLB will relay your location to a network of search and rescue satellites. PLBs have helped save thousands of people's lives. This Product has been Upgraded. Click Here for Available Upgrade WARNING: PROP 65    

Out of stock

ResQLink™ saves lives

Survivor Stories

Hiker Unknowingly Saves Herself From A Fatal Heart Attack With PLB

Somewhere in the darkness I had decided that there was no way I could walk out of here... not even retracing our steps.

Read Full Story

Locator Beacon Used for Hiker Injury

We were traveling along the track down a steep slippery section when my feet went from under me, sending me sliding down and my foot impacted with a tree trunk causing a significant injury to my ankle. My ankle was completely broken, and my foot attached to my leg only by tissue.

Read Full Story