Bob,

here's a snip from a thread back in June of last year:

A couple of years ago I agreed with your position without reservation.
However, I've had a change of heart... and so with it the ex-smoker's
compulsion to overreact to those that still fume. My rationalizations
were not about choice, rather practicality. The 406 units have rendered
that arguments empty.

We had an accident at our club in the mid 90s. The good news is, the
pilot survived, but with very serious injuries. But for the people who
ran through literally a mile of thickets and brambles, shredding their
own skin, he might have died of his injuries. That one had nothing to
do with ELTs. But it demonstrated to me just how motivated some people
become when lives are at stake. I would hate that my negligence led to
someone's injury or death whose only concern was to save me.

Chris OCallaghan Jun 17 2004, 11:19 am show options
Newsgroups: rec.aviation.soaring
From: (Chris OCallaghan) - Find messages by
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Date: 17 Jun 2004 11:19:50 -0700
Local: Thurs, Jun 17 2004 11:19 am
Subject: ELT Mandatory ?
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This morning CNN reported the drownings of 4 people. A small child
fell into a fountain. A rescuer followed her immediately. As did
another. And another. All were killed by a circulation pump that
pinned them to the bottom.

This is a cautionary tale. Some, like the previous poster, would say
the moral is "Look before your leap." Others might recognize that it
is in our primal nature to risk our lives to save others.

The lesson I've learned is that while I may be harwired to demonstrate
bravado through lack of concern for my own welfare, I should at the
very least consider those who are hardwired to respond to any call for
help. And a glider which doesn't return home carries with it an
implied call for help.

Joseph Campbell discussed this "need to help," even at risk to one's
own well-being, in The Hero with a Thousand Faces and The Power of
Myth. Both are interesting reads -- and emphasize just how dear such
people really are.