Feds at Work: Locating aircraft crash sites more precisely

Developed a new generation of aircraft distress beacons more likely to survive a plane crash and aid rescuers in finding victims

In August 2010, a single-engine airplane crashed in the Alaskan wilderness killing five passengers, including former Sen. Ted Stevens. His friend, former NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe, survived the crash and was stranded on a mountainside with three others for more than 18 hours, awaiting rescue and medical assistance.

Lisa Mazzuca (Photo by Aaron Clamage)

One reason the search and rescue team took so long was the failure of a small distress beacon in the aircraft, an emergency transmitter that is supposed to signal authorities and provide the approximate crash location.

This accident, along with the disappearance of a Malaysian airliner in 2014 and other instances where emergency beacon systems failed, prompted NASA’s Lisa Mazzuca to examine the growing problem.

Through two years of research and testing, Mazzuca’s team developed a sturdier, more reliable, second-generation transmitter and an upgraded global satellite system to help responders locate crash sites more precisely.

“This is a huge development. It’s going to help people out in the most distressing circumstances and will have an enormous impact on scores of people who may not otherwise have had a chance to see another day,” O’Keefe said.

Mazzuca is the “architect and designer of the entire new system,” said Cathy Barclay, a NASA deputy program manager, one that will be more reliable and have “far-reaching national and global applications.”

“The distress signal gives you a fighting chance.” ~Sean O’Keefe

The repeated failure of the legacy emergency system has become a pressing safety problem for the aviation and maritime industries, said Capt. Peter Martin, a Coast Guard commander in the Houston/Galveston region.

The new technology gives search and rescue authorities more information to understand who is in distress and where they are, to get them quicker assistance, he said. It’s the “difference between life and death.”

Mazzuca and her NASA colleagues realized the emergency transmitters were not working as intended and not always surviving crashes. So, in 2014, she and her team initiated a study to identify why. They tested a large number of the existing devices and performed three controlled airplane crash tests to evaluate failure scenarios.

Their work led them to develop a beacon with a more robust signal, one that is less prone to interference. It should be able to survive a crash better and reduce the time it takes to detect and locate a distress call. Coupled with the new generation satellite and ground systems, victims can be found with an accuracy of 100 meters, a vast improvement over the current system’s accuracy of one kilometer.

“The distress signal gives you a fighting chance,” said O’Keefe, who suffered a fractured neck and other injuries from the airplane crash and wondered at the time when, if ever, he and the others would be rescued.

Emergency transmitters are mandated on all commercial airplanes and required for most general aviation aircraft. The maritime industry and the Coast Guard also use them. In 2016, there were 307 rescues in the U.S. from search and rescue satellite systems.

Mazzuca knew the numbers of those rescued could improve dramatically with a more reliable system in place, Barclay said.

The recommendations from the work Mazzuca performed on beacon crash survivability has resulted in upcoming regulatory changes in both the U.S. and Europe that will produce a significantly better beacon and improved practices for installing these devices in aircraft.

Mazzuca also led discussions on the new technology with representatives from 42 other countries, and airplane manufacturers and other stakeholders.

In her spare time, Mazzuca serves as a volunteer with the Baltimore County Police Department supporting local search and rescue missions in both maritime and aviation environments.

“I have this whole other half of me that not many people at NASA know about,” she said.

“Having the technical ability to make a positive difference in someone’s life is personally what I am most proud of over my career.”

Lisa Mazzuca is a finalist for a 2017 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal, or Sammies. Each year, the Partnership for Public Service honors federal employees whose remarkable accomplishments make our government and our nation stronger.

For the third year, we will also present the annual “People’s Choice” award. Please vote for the person or team you find most inspiring. (Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. EST on September 15, 2017.)

Partnership for Public Service

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The Partnership works to revitalize our federal government by inspiring a new generation to serve and by transforming the way government works.

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