Why did Cospas-Sarsat select 2009 as the date that they will terminate 121.5 MHz satellite alerting services?
This date was chosen for three reasons. The main reason was that ICAO determined that the earliest Cospas-Sarsat should phase out 121.5 MHz satellite processing was 2008. The second reason was to allow national administrations, ELT manufacturers and aircraft operators time to plan and prepare for the termination of 121.5 MHz satellite alerting, and possibly transition to 406 MHz beacons or other alerting systems. It was felt that waiting until 2009 would also allow the marketplace to adjust to the termination of 121.5 MHz satellite alerting without undue cost to the manufacturers or general aviation aircraft owners. Finally, 2009 was selected as after that time there would not be enough satellites in orbit to reliably locate 121.5 MHz beacons.
