31 July 2011 C1 CIVIL AVIATION DEPARTMENT HONG KONG ...

an on live testing of ELT has also been extended to those which transmit on406 MHz.3.3 It is accepted that aircraft operators do need to test their ELT on a regularbasis to demonstrate their continued serviceability and the Director-Generalhas established that the following options exist:(a)(b)(c)For ELT that can be removed from the aircraft (e.g. Survival ELT andAutomatic Portable ELT) the operator can remove the ELT from theaircraft and test it in either a shielded room or a shielded bag.Shielded ELT test bags can be obtained from most ELT manufacturers.For ELT that cannot be removed from the aircraft (or those which theoperator wishes to test in situ) an antenna cap should be used toprevent the ELT transmission from going beyond the aircraft.Antenna caps can be obtained from either an antenna manufacturer or,in some cases, from the ELT manufacturer. Operators may also useself-manufactured antenna caps provided that they can be shown toprevent transmission from the aircraft.Some ELT have test functions that do not actively transmit on theemergency frequencies or which send codes that are not recognised bythe COSPAS-SARSAT satellites. In these cases live testing can beperformed as long as the operator can demonstrate that it will not causean interaction with any of the SAR services.3.4 In all cases, procedures for testing ELT should be based on the manufacturer'srecommended testing practices and, where applicable, should be performedusing their recommended test equipment unless this would result in unshieldedtesting.4 Additional Reference Information On Aircraft ELT4.1 Additional information on COSPAS-SARSAT, including information on thecarriage, coding, registration and testing of ELT, can be found at the followingwebsite address: www.cospas-sarsat.org.4.2 Many ELT manufacturers also provide Frequently Asked Question (FAQ)sheets on related topics.Norman LODirector-General of Civil Aviation31 January 2005 AN-27A P.2