On Christmas Eve, 1996, a 40-foot lear jet lost contact with the Lebanon Municipal Airport control tower after an aborted landing attempt in bad weather. The plane and its two pilots were never recovered.
Now, more than two years later, Congress wants to prevent an incident such as this from happening again. In a bill motivated by the accident in nearby Lebanon and introduced to the House on January 6, 1999, Representative Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) is leading the effort to require most small aircrafts to carry an emergency locator transmitter.
The Airplane Emergency Locator Act applies to all small planes except those carrying a certificate from the Secretary of Transportation, certain testing and training airplanes, those used for air racing or exhibitions, and planes used for the aerial application of a substance for an agricultural purpose.
According to Section 2 of the Act, the transmitters "have been found to be very helpful in locating downed aircraft and saving lives." Section 2 also cites the Lebanon disappearance and subsequent unsuccessful search.
There was no emergency locator transmitter on board the Lear Jet that disappeared in Lebanon making the search for the downed plane in the thick woods and harsh New Hampshire weather extremely difficult.
The state of New Hampshire, as well as Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York and Maine, in cooperation with the federal government, conducted the extensive search for the plane and the two Connecticut men -- Johan Schwartz of Westport and Patrick Hayes of Clinton -- who were on board the plane at the time of the crash.
The bill and a similar one in the Senate put forth by Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), are currently in line to be voted on later this year. The House legislation is also co-sponsored by six other Representatives from Connecticut and Massachusetts.
