NTSB releases probable cause for Steve Fossett crash

Gezellig wrote:
On Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:37:22 -0400, Peter Dohm wrote:

5) Crashes that occur away from the airports, where a search operation is
needed, probably involve a very small percentage of pilots and passengers
over their lifetimes. I really don't know how small that percentage is; but
if the percentage is as small as I suspect, then there is some question
about whether any system makes sense--with the exception of post crash
beacons in aircraft carrying passengers commercially and possibly combat
aircraft. (If the lifetime probability, for the participants in the
activity, is only one or two percent, then it is long past time to reopen
the debate about general aviation fleetwide use in terms of its value versus
cost in money, time, effort, freedom and privacy.)

I was told but never confirmed that it was a prerequisite for insuring
the plane and, potentially, the pilot.

I flew a plane for seven-eight years without an ELT, and the insurance
carrier never seemed to care. That was just a liability policy, though.

Ron Wanttaja