ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A small aircraft’s emergency beacon activated early last week after the plane experienced a mechanical problem and overturned near Hatcher Pass, prompting an expansive, multiday search effort that ended with authorities learning that the pilot was safe — and had coordinated his own rescue days earlier, Alaska State Troopers said.
Troopers first received the beacon transmission on Feb. 6 from what seemed to be an unidentifiable aircraft east of the Parks Highway, near Willow and Talkeetna, troopers said in an online report.
Most modern emergency locators installed on planes include data in their transmissions about the plane and who it is registered to. But the transmission on this plane was an older-style beacon that didn’t include any data except the general vicinity where it was coming from, troopers spokesman Austin McDaniel said Saturday.
